Batrachedrodes sophroniella is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Batrachedridae

Batrachedridae

Batrachedridae is a small family of moths. These are small, slender moths which rest with the wings wrapped tightly around the body. The taxonomy of this and related groups is often disputed...

 family. It is endemic to Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

, Maui

Maui

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...

 and Hawaii

Hawaii (island)

The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...

.

The larvae feed at times abundantly on the sporangia of Dryopteris cyatheoides. The larvae feed protected by a web. When there are no more sporangia, they feed on the undersurface of the frond, eating away the parenchyma and leaving the upper epidermis which then shows as dead spots. Pupation takes place within a cocoon alongside of the midrib of a pinna.

External links

• Insects of Hawaii. Volume 9, Microlepidoptera