One of New Zealand’s greatest entomologists, George W. Gibbs, sadly passed away on September 10, 2026. Just last year, he gifted Te Papa an important part of his private research collection – including over 2,000 specimens of micro moths (Micropterigidae) from New Zealand and New Caledonia. So, what is the story behind the collector and his curious critters?
Juliette Fuehrhop takes a closer look at these little forest moths, what they meant to Gibbs, and why they are such a significant addition to the museum’s insect collection.
What are Micropterigidae?
Throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, tiny flecks of gold and purple flutter silently through the forest understory: miniscule moths usually no more than 5mm long with a wingspan of around 1cm. Blink, and you may miss them. Described as ‘little jewels of the insect world’, they are covered in iridescent scales that shimmer like sequins when they catch the light. Combined with their funky disco haircuts and vibrant colours, they would have made Ziggy Stardust proud!
These enigmatic insects belong to the family of moths called Micropterigidae (meaning “small wing” in Greek). But their uniqueness isn’t merely superficial. While most moths and butterflies have a history deeply intertwined with flowering plants, the micropterigid moths walked a different evolutionary path… one that sheds a light on Aotearoa’s ancient history.
Some of the dazzling diversity of our native Micropterigidae, tiny cryptic forest moths:
What is special about them?
If you were to inspect the head of an adult micropterigid moth very closely, something might strike you as odd. The Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) most of us are familiar with have an iconic proboscis – a long coiled tongue – used for drinking the nectar of flowers. But you wouldn’t find one on a micropterigid moth; instead, they possess mouths with little jaws.
Once upon a time many millions of years ago, all insect ancestors including the Lepidoptera had little mandibles for grinding and chewing up solid food.
But when flowering plants (Angiosperms) started to evolve and produce nectar for the first time, a new niche opened up for insects and other animals: an energy-packed source of food became available in exchange for pollination. Liquid gold to a little foraging insect!
So, sometime during the Triassic period 200-250 million years ago, the first moths started feeding on flower nectar. Eventually their mouths evolved into a much more specialised shape: the proboscis, comparable to an elephant’s trunk. To this day, your average Lepidoptera still feeds with this thin little tube.
But the micropterigid moths continued chewing on plants instead of drinking nectar. This meant inhabiting their own niche, rather different to all their moth relatives with a proboscis.
Their old-fashioned chomping jaws are now a biological relic of ancient times; a time before flowers ever graced the Earth
Jaw-moths never evolved a proboscis on their snout, so they still munch away on plant material with their little mandibles. Here we have two adults of our native species Sabatinca chalcophanes:
The antiquity of Micropterigidae
The lineage of Micropterigidae is truly an ancient one. Fossils of nearly identical moths date back to 136 million years ago at least – the end of the Jurassic, when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. Fossils have been found of other mandibulate moths, but all these lineages ended in extinction. Only the family Micropterigidae remains to tell the tale of those primitive chewing moths from a bygone era. Hence their common name “mandibulate archaic moths”, or more simply “jaw-moths”. Which is a bit less of a mouthful – excuse the pun!
What do they feed on?
Today, adult jaw-moths feed on a range of spores from ferns, mosses, liverworts and lycopods around the globe. Unlike other Lepidoptera, they are not dependent on flowers.
However, jaw-moths can still have a role in pollination because many species do eat the pollen from flowering plants, primarily grasses and sedges. In Aotearoa for example, adults of various jaw-moth species are known to consume pollen from the native sedge kamu/hookgrass, and have also been spotted on our native buttercups, sundews, and nīkau. Like bees, they will accidentally transfer the pollen over to other flowers that they visit.
It is not just the winged adults that are a bit unorthodox – the youngsters are quirky too. The larvae are described as “hunchbacked” and “slug-like”, in stark contrast to the classic worm-like caterpillars you might be used to seeing. Here in Aotearoa, micropterigid caterpillars have a highly selective taste in food. All but one of our native species hatch and graze exclusively on liverworts (a close relative of moss) until they pupate and metamorphose into adults amongst the glossy green leaves. Meanwhile the caterpillars of Zealandopterix zonodoxa most likely prefer fungi or decaying organic matter.
The caterpillars of our native micropterigid moths, strange and alien compared to the rest of their moth and butterfly relatives:
Unsurprisingly, the habitat of Micropterigidae tends to be moist, mossy forest across the country wherever liverworts thrive. The tiny shiny adult moths may be seen flitting around in the shady understory – if your eyes are keen enough to pick them out in the dappled light. The caterpillars, however, are rarely ever spotted.
The man behind the moths
There is one person who made it part of his life’s mission to find and study these elusive insects.
George Gibbs (1937–2026) found his passion for the study of entomology at a young age. His parents happily encouraged his interest in the world of bugs, and as a young child he was already being immersed in entomological paraphernalia and field trips to his grandfather’s old stomping grounds (also an avid entomologist). At 14 years old, Gibbs collected his first Sabatinca aurella from Arthur’s Pass; perhaps a hint of things to come.
Gibbs went on to study and teach entomology for the rest of his life. After finishing a PhD in insect ecology at Sydney University, he found a long and active career in academia at Victoria University of Wellington. He would spend over six decades lecturing and publishing books and papers on entomology with a focus on moths, butterflies, glowworms, and wētā.
He clearly left a positive impression on those who took his classes. Te Papa Invertebrate Curator Phil Sirvid fondly remembers his lectures at Victoria University, saying Gibbs stood out as having “a real knack for explaining complicated scientific processes in an accessible way” (Gibbs would joke: “Well, that is my job!”). His Flora & Fauna course gained such an excellent reputation in the School of Biological Sciences that both students and teaching assistants didn’t want to miss out.
What truly hooked Gibbs was the ancient history behind the diverse flora and fauna (such as our wonderful insects) that we see today, and how this is linked to the geographical history of Aotearoa – an island that wasn’t always an island! He turned his enquiring mind towards the field of study known as biogeography, investigating the evolution of extant species to help answer complicated questions about the Earth’s past.
He had always shown an unwavering interest in Lepidoptera, so it is perhaps no surprise that the most archaic moths would pique his interest: the family Micropterigidae. Committed to understanding these treasures of the old world, he travelled extensively throughout the southern hemisphere for comparative studies of jaw-moth species. He collected and pinned many hundreds of moths, just like his grandfather did.
It runs in the family
George Gibbs’ grandfather was George V. Hudson, an iconic pioneering figure in the entomology world. He is best known for collecting, drawing, and cataloguing the local native insects of Wellington in his free time. Above all, Hudson possessed an “inordinate fondness for moths” (a quote from Gibbs describing his grandfather in An Exquisite Legacy (2020)).
Throughout his life, Hudson contributed an immense amount of knowledge to the taxonomy and distribution of NZ’s native (and introduced) insects through publications that showcased his detailed hand-painted illustrations. Perhaps most notable of these is Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand (1928).
Hudson actually described two jaw-moth species: Sabatinca aurella and Sabatinca aenea. He included all 19 species of Micropterigidae described at the time in Butterflies and Moths of New Zealand (1928).
No doubt inspired by his grandfather’s work and passion, Gibbs went on to deepen our knowledge of these native moths and butterflies. His first book New Zealand Butterflies (1980) is still considered the foremost reference on our native butterflies.
Gibbs never seemed to lose his love for insects. Though fully retired from teaching in 2012, he became a Senior Associate at Victoria University and continued researching and engaging widely with the entomology community. In 2014, Gibbs published Volume 72 of Fauna NZ: Micropterigidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera), which brought together his diligent years of research into a foundational text for Aotearoa.
In 2019, Gibbs also helped initiate the 100 Year Moth Project in collaboration with the Entomological Society – Wellington Pepeke, Te Papa, Zealandia and Ōtari-Wilton’s Bush. The aim of this project was to record moths from the same areas as Hudson did a century ago, to see if any changes in Lepidoptera diversity have occurred. Like grandfather, like grandson, some might say.
Today, George Gibbs will be remembered as the leading authority when it comes to the Micropterigidae, in addition to his many other specialties and contributions.
Why was Gibbs fascinated by Micropterigidae?
During the Cretaceous period (66–145 million years ago) much of the current landmasses of the Southern Hemisphere were all part of one supercontinent called Gondwana. Creatures and plants living together on this ancient land would have been ancestors to species living today. Over eons and eons, Gondwana slowly fragmented into smaller continents and islands. This is why our endemic flora and fauna have a shared ancestry with species over in Australia, New Caledonia, and even Chile, from before Aotearoa broke away from Gondwana some 70-85 million years ago.
Gibbs wanted to shed light on the evolutionary paths of Gondwanan species. Thus began one man’s life-long journey delving into the deep past of the South Pacific, culminating in his book Ghosts of Gondwana: The History of Life in New Zealand (2016), which brought together much of our understanding of historical biogeography and evolution of life in Aotearoa.
And this is where the Micropterigidae come into the story again. Because today, primitive fauna like jaw-moths can tell us more about the past, and how species diversified over time and space as Gondwana fractured and drifted apart.
Aotearoa is an island especially rich in native and endemic species, with some that have survived for millennia in isolation from the rest of the Pacific. This can be seen in the high diversity of Micropterigidae: Aotearoa currently has 19 recognised species of jaw-moth.
Gibbs’ discoveries
Gibbs found we have two groups of Micropterigidae here: the ‘Sabatinca clade’ and the ‘Australian clade’. The first group, all in the genus Sabatinca, is mostly distributed throughout NZ and New Caledonia. It is very rich in species. We have 18 species of Sabatinca, and while this is a lot, New Caledonia has over three times as many.
There is only one species of the ‘Australian clade’ found here, called Zealandopterix zonodoxa. It is the “exception to the sabatincoid fauna of NZ”, as Gibbs puts it. The black sheep of our native micropterigids, so to speak.
The species Zealandopterix zonodoxa is exceptional in a few ways. It is the smallest of our native jaw-moths, with caterpillars that look strikingly different to Sabatinca caterpillars and don’t associate with liverworts.
Its closest relatives (the rest of the ‘Australian clade’), live in Australia and New Caledonia. So, it is not surprising that this lonely NZ species resembles its kin from Australia more closely than it does our native Sabatinca species.
Zealandopterix zonodoxa is estimated to have been geographically isolated in Aotearoa for 80–100 million years. This means the species is so old it was likely part of the “founding biota” of Zealandia: these moths were already around when the Tasman Sea was opening up between Australia, Aotearoa and New Caledonia. This is why we can find their descendants scattered across the South West Pacific today.
The donation and Te Papa’s moth collection
Te Papa now has Gibbs’ extensive collection of moths, which he kindly donated last year. One man’s lifelong project will now be archived and treasured forever, a part of our national history and a continuing source of scientific knowledge to the world of entomology.
This collection underpinned his research for two Fauna of New Zealand volumes, one on Micropterigidae and one on another primitive moth family, Mnesearchaeidae.
Natural History Technician Shaun Thompson is currently tasked with curating Gibbs’ collection. He explains that it contains almost 3,000 moths and butterflies, both from here and abroad. Of these, over 2,000 are Micropterigidae specimens: 600 from Aotearoa NZ, 250 from Australia, 1,300 from New Caledonia, and 87 from other countries such as South Africa, Chile, Denmark, and USA. Also included are over 300 Mnesarchaeidae (all from NZ), a moth family which Gibbs has also studied extensively. The rest are miscellaneous Lepidoptera, almost entirely butterflies from the families Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae.
Natural History Technician Lorenzo Ravalo reveals that before this donation, Te Papa only had 77 specimens of Micropterigidae and 65 Mnesarchaeidae. It is clear these archaic moth lineages have been copiously enriched by Gibbs’ contributions.
Overall, Te Papa holds vast numbers of other, larger moth families, such as 6,500 Noctuidae, 6,000 Geometridae, and 3,000 Crambidae. Museum specimens like these have huge historical and scientific value. Having a record of species found in different places over a long period of time can provide key insights into our insect ecology, biodiversity, and how these may be changing.
Various important figures from the 20th century have brought about this comprehensive collection. Natural History Technician Sam McAulay explains, “Besides Hudson, the primary collectors of Lepidoptera at Te Papa are Kenneth John Fox and Thomas H. Davies, whose collecting was concentrated in the Taranaki and Hawke’s Bay regions, as well as George Howes and John T. Salmon whose particular regions of interest were Fiordland and Otago Lakes covering a range of altitudes.”
This is a new chapter in the history of the entomology collection: now we honour Gibbs’ name alongside the many other collectors that came before him. And most importantly, alongside his grandfather. George Hudson spent his life building up an enormous study collection of meticulously pinned insects. Today, the iconic “Hudson Collection” resides at Te Papa, bequeathed in 1946. It provides a detailed historical reference of our native insect diversity, especially local Lepidoptera. Without it, biodiversity and conservation research like the 100 Year Moth project would not be possible.
Even before this newest contribution, there was already evidence of the intergenerational link between Hudson and Gibbs found in Te Papa’s cabinets. The museum holds the holotype of Sabatinca aenea that Hudson described in 1923. Later, Gibbs described the moth species Mnesarchaea hudsoni (2019), which he named in Hudson’s honour. The holotype also resides at Te Papa.
Entomology Curator Julia Kasper, asked to reflect on the donation, says, “It is wonderful to see Gibbs’ work become part of the collection. This donation brings together two remarkable chapters in New Zealand entomology and shows the strong connection between Hudson and Gibbs.”
Our understanding and appreciation of these little moths of Aotearoa would not be the same without the two Georges. These interwoven stories (of moth and men) will be preserved in the museum for future generations to enjoy and learn from.
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