New Zealand Tussock Grassland Moths

E.G. White

A Taxonomic and Ecological Handbook based on light-trapping studies in Canterbury

This handbook has been designed around the practical questions facing the non-specialist seeking to identify tussock grassland moths accurately and to know their ecologies.

The primary focus is on night-flying moths (those attracted to light) and coverage includes more than one-third of the total New Zealand moth fauna. Many of these moths have wide associations beyond tussock grasslands. Distinctive characters are emphasised to make moth recognition as easy as possible, and the reader’s attention is also drawn to the distinguishing characters of look-alike moths that might be mistakenly confused.

Line drawings, colour plates and a glossary assist the reader to understand morphological terms. Taxonomic keys complement a range of scanning and networking features to locate species of immediate interest in the fewest possible steps. Distribution ranges and known larval foods are defined, and statistically robust selections of light-trapping data are used to clarify species abundances, flight phenologies, altitudinal distributions and faunal biodiversity.

A range of topical information is presented in supplementary ‘Note’ entries throughout the text, and appendices provide easy access to moth dispersal records, the ranges of variability encountered between individuals, and the timing of flight across the hours of darkness. The handbook format also allows quick appraisal of what is currently unknown by science and includes moths that are as yet undescribed.

Contributions by J.S. Dugdale, R.J.B. Hoare and B.H. Patrick

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Product information

Author: E.G. White
ISBN: 978-0-47-809345-2
Publisher: Manaaki Whenua Press
Publication date: 2002
Pages: 366
Format: Hardback