Chrysorthenches halocarpi

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Chrysorthenches halocarpi is a small moth found only in New Zealand. It lives in native bush and has been seen on both the North and South Islands. The larvae feed on Halocarpus bidwillii and Halocarpus biformis, and have been collected in October and November. Adults fly from November to February. The species was described by John S. Dugdale in 1996. The male holotype was raised from a larva collected at Lewis Pass and is kept in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection. The larva is green with a brown head, and the pupa develops in a silk cocoon covered with frass. Adults have a wingspan of about 8.5–10.5 mm, with dark brown forewings that reflect purple and show speckled white bands. This species can be told apart from its close relative C. drosochalca by its purple-tinted forewings, darker throat scales, and the lack of white rings on the middle tibia. In 2020, DNA and morphological studies examined Chrysorthenches species, including halocarpi.