Tessema sensilis

[1] Though there is no particular reason to assume it is very rare, this moth is inconspicuous and has in fact only been recorded a single time so far, on January 23, 1968; it took almost 20 years to realize it was a new and distinct animal.

It is mostly a medium yellowish-brown in color, and in the details closely resembles Herpetogramma fimbrialis, and somewhat less so such species as Palpita cupripennalis[2] and Glyphodes argyritis.

The only mark on the yellowish-brown wings is a short reddish transverse dash at the outer end of the forewing cell.

The vinculum is broad and truncated, with a bulge in the middle; the tegumen is arched, and the anellus forms a small almost triangular plate with light sclerotized flanges at the hind sides.

Its habitat is likely light woodland rich in shrubs, ferns, mosses and lichens, but it may have been a vagrant from more or less densely wooded areas nearby.

Plants recorded in or near the presumed habitat are for example Bidens henryi, Cheirodendron bastardianum, Glochidion ramiflorum, Metrosideros collina, Pandanus, and Vaccinium cereum.