Trachypepla cyphonias

This species was described by Edward Meyrick in 1927 using a male specimen collected by George Hudson in Wellington on the hills on the eastern side of Wellington Harbour in December.^[3][4] Hudson discussed and illustrated the species in 1939.^[5] The holotype specimen is held at the Natural History Museum, London.^[4]

Meyrick described the species as follows:

♂ 15 mm. Head ochreous-whitish. Palpi ochreous-whitish, second joint dark fuscous except apex, terminal joint with two dark fuscous rings. Antennal ciliations 1. Thorax ochreous-whitish, shoulders fuscous. Forewings elongate, termen very obliquely rounded; purplish-fuscous, darker-sprinkled, costa suffused darker; an ochreous-whitish spot on base of dorsum; first discal stigma formed of black and white raised scales, plical small, of black raised scales, beneath first discal, second discal included in a curved transverse linear white mark edged with raised black scales; a minute whitish dot on costa before middle; a suffused whitish triangular dot on costa beyond 2⁄3, whence a very indistinct irregular curved series of undefined dots of blackish irroration runs to tornus: cilia greyish, with series of ochreous-whitish points. Hindwings grey, paler near base; cilia ochreous-whitish, with faint pale greyish lines.^[3]

This species is endemic to New Zealand.^[2] Along with its type locality, this specimen has also been collected at Egmont.^[6]

This species is on the wing in December.^[5] Larvae have been reared from trapped litter in kānuka.^[7]

The preferred habitat of this species is open scrub.^[5]