Mallobathra abyssina

This species was first described by Charles Edwin Clarke in 1934 using a male specimen collected by himself at Franz Joseph Glacier in January and named Sabathinca abyssina.[3] In 1988 J. S. Dugdale placed this species within the genus Mallobathra.[2] George Hudson described the species in his 1939 publication A supplement to the butterflies and moths of New Zealand.[4] The holotype specimen is held at Auckland Museum.[2]

Clarke described the adult of this species as follows:

♂ 12 mm. Head and thorax aeneous. Antennae dark fuscous, base aeneous. Abdomen dark fuscous. Forewing ovate, rather blunted at apex; very pale aeneous with fasciae of dark purple; an irroration of purple dots on base to ⅓ of costa, where a wide outwardly oblique fascia of dark irrorated purple crosses to dorsum, another sub-parallel at beyond ½, and another also sub-parallel, more or less bifurcated, towards apex, some loose irroration between fascias, of purple dots. Cilia ochreous-aeneous. Hindwings dark purplish grey. Cilia pale ochreous-aeneous.[3]

Franz Josef Glacier, habitat of M. abyssina

This species is endemic to New Zealand.[1] The holotype specimen was collected on rocks on the north eastern side of Franz Josef Glacier.[3]