Heloxycanus
Encyclopedia
Heloxycanus patricki is a species of moth
of the family
Hepialidae
, the only member of the genus Heloxycanus. Its common names are ghost moth and sphagnum porina moth. The species is named for its discoverer, entomologist
Brian Patrick. It is found in Sphagnum
and other moss
bogs in the southern part of the South Island
of New Zealand
. Its life cycle runs in two year cycles with peak numbers of adults occurring in odd-numbered years.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Hepialidae
Hepialidae
The Hepialidae is a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.-Taxonomy and systematics:...
, the only member of the genus Heloxycanus. Its common names are ghost moth and sphagnum porina moth. The species is named for its discoverer, entomologist
Entomology
Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of arthropodology...
Brian Patrick. It is found in Sphagnum
Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...
and other moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
bogs in the southern part of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Its life cycle runs in two year cycles with peak numbers of adults occurring in odd-numbered years.