Archyala culta

Archyala culta is a species of moth in the family Tineidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. It is classified as "Data Deficient" by the Department of Conservation. This species has only been collected at Opoho and is only known from its type specimen.

Taxonomy
This species was described by Alfred Philpott in 1931 from a specimen collected by Charles E. Clarke at Opoho, Dunedin on the 17 December 1921. In 1939 George Hudson discussed and illustrated the species. The holotype specimen is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Description
Philpott described the species as follows: "♂. 15 mm. Head and palpi greyish brown. Antennae grey annulated with fuscous. Thorax brown. Abdomen greyish brown. Legs greyish ochreous, tarsi annulated with fuscous. Forewings elongate, costa sinuate before middle, apex round-pointed termen straight, oblique; light grey: numerous fine curved transverse dark fuscous strigulae from base to apex; a very dark obscure fuscous linear marking in disc: fringes grey mixed with fuscous; base pale and a sub-basal blackish fuscous line. Hindwings purplish fuscous, darker apically: fringes dark greyish fuscous with darker basal line." Hudson stated that this species could be distinguished by the peculiar outline of the costa of fore-wings, and absence of any tendency for the strigulae to coalesce in pairs.

Distribution
This species is endemic to New Zealand. This species is only known from its type specimen and at its type locality of Opoho.

Life history
It has been hypothesised that larvae of this species inhabits dead wood, boring into it and feeding on it.

Conservation status
This species has been classified as having the "Data Deficient" conservation status under the New Zealand Threat Classification System.