Abstract
The genus Arctesthes Meyrick (Geometridae: Larentiinae: Xanthorhoini), endemic to the South Island of New Zealand, is revised. Four species are recognised, including two new species, as follows: Arctesthescatapyrrha (Butler, 1877), A.siris (Hudson, 1908), A.titanicasp. nov. and A.avatarsp. nov. All except A.catapyrrha are restricted to subalpine and alpine localities. Adults and genitalia are fully described and illustrated for all species; larvae of A.catapyrrha are also briefly described and illustrated. Only Arctesthescatapyrrha is widespread; A.siris is restricted to a few mountain ranges of Central Otago; A.titanica is only known from two wetland localities in the Von Valley of the Otago Lakes district, and A.avatar is only known from a few wetlands in a restricted area of north-west Nelson. The two new species are considered of very high priority for conservation.
Highlights
New Zealand has a relatively diverse and almost entirely endemic fauna of Geometridae, with Larentiinae by far the best represented subfamily (e.g., Dugdale 1988)
Within Larentiinae, Xanthorhoini contains a few endemic genera (e.g., Notoreas Meyrick, Asaphodes Meyrick) that have radiated extensively in the alpine areas of the South Island; there are genera (e.g., Aponotoreas Craw) that are shared with Australia
It was made the type and only species of a new genus Stratonice by Meyrick (1884); he later replaced this preoccupied name with Arctesthes (Meyrick 1885a)
Summary
New Zealand has a relatively diverse and almost entirely endemic fauna of Geometridae, with Larentiinae by far the best represented subfamily (e.g., Dugdale 1988). It was made the type and only species of a new genus Stratonice by Meyrick (1884); he later replaced this preoccupied name with Arctesthes (Meyrick 1885a). The only species hitherto assigned to the genus Arctesthes in its original description is A. chrysopeda, Copyright Brian H. The new species siris from Central Otago was described by Hudson (1908) in Lythria; the genus name Arctesthes had already fallen into disuse. It was resurrected by Craw (1986) in his review of the genus Notoreas. All four Arctesthes species are confined to open grassland or wetland habitats of the South Island, and only A. catapyrrha has been found in lowland localities (below 600 m), though it is common in the subalpine and alpine zones
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