Eudonia philerga
species of moth endemic to New Zealand
Eudonia philerga is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. This species was first described by Edward Meyrick. It is endemic to New Zealand, found throughout the country, and regarded as common. Larvae feed on moss. Adult moths have been observed on the wing more frequently from October to April, and are attracted to light.
Taxonomy
This species was named Scoparia philerga by Edward Meyrick in 1884. Meyrick gave a detailed description of the adult moth in 1885. George Hudson discussed and illustrated this species in his 1928 publication The butterflies and moths of New Zealand. In 1988 John S. Dugdale placed this species in the genus Eudonia. The male holotype specimen, collected at Lake Wakatipu, is held at the Natural History Museum, London.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Eudonia philerga” is species of moth endemic to New Zealand. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Eudonia, philerga and species, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “species of moth endemic to New Zealand” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5406705. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1884, 1885, 1928 and 1988.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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This entry incorporates text from “Eudonia philerga” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.