Puriri moth

Māori name: pepe tuna; mokoroa, ngutara; pungoungou

English name: puriri moth

Scientific name: Aenetus virescens (Doubleday in White and Doubleday)
order = Lepidoptera; family = Hepialidae

is the largest moth in Aotearoa / New Zealand, and is found only on Te Ika a Māui / North Island;
relatives live in Australia, New Caledonia, and Papua New Guinea;
caterpillars start life living in a bracket fungus;
older caterpillars make a refuge tunnel in the trunk of a large tree;
caterpillars feed on the wound tissue of the tree around the tunnel entrance, which is concealed by a silken "tent";
pupation occurs in the tunnel;
adult moths do not feed, and live only for a few days;
moths are active at night.

An image of a male of this species is at our N.Z. Lepidoptera site, based on a specimen kept at the South Australian Museum, Adelaide.

See Dugdale, J.S. 1994: Hepialidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera). Fauna of New Zealand 30