Chapman Road Scientific Reserve

Two rare species of native moths are active on the hottest days of summer from October to March. Look carefully over the barest salty areas on sunny days to see them flying low over the salty crust where their larval host plant Atriplex buchananii grows.

One is a small geometrid moth about 12 mm in wingspan and conspicuous with its orange hindwings. Paranotoreas fulva delights to sunbathe on the barest salty soils and the females lay their eggs on the host plant.

The other moth is a crambid which was first discovered on these salt pans in the 1980s and is still undescribed in the genus Loxostege. It is also day flying species over the barest saline patches where again its larvae feed on mats of Atriplex.

Both are  only found on Central Otago's salt pans. They are rare and threatened as this once extensive habitat has dwindled in both extent and quality.