Stigmella aliena
species of moth endemic to New Zealand
Stigmella aliena is a moth of the family Nepticulidae. It is endemic to New Zealand and has only been observed at Mount Arthur in the north western area of the South Island. This species is known only from the male holotype specimen. The larvae of this species are likely leaf miners, however the biology of this species is currently unknown, as is the female of this species. The adults are on the wing in December.
Taxonomy
This species was first described in 1989 by Hans Donner and Christopher Wilkinson from a specimen collected on Mount Arthur, at 1200 m, on 25 December 1921 by Alfred Philpott. Donner and Wilkinson noted the "marked differences" in the genitalia of the holotype specimen of this species when compared to other species of moth in this genus. The male holotype specimen is held at the New Zealand Arthropod Collection.
Description
The male of the species has a white tuft, scrape and collar as well as a white thorax. The antennae has approximately 34 segments and is coloured brown as is the abdomen of the male.
“Stigmella aliena” enters the record as species of moth endemic to New Zealand. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Stigmella, aliena and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7616528. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1989, 1200 and 1921.
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This entry incorporates text from “Stigmella aliena” 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.