Cryptophlebia illepida is a species of moth in the Tortricidae

Tortricidae

Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...

 family that is endemic to the islands of Kauai

Kauai

Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...

, 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...

, Molokai

Molokai

Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...

, 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,...

, Lānai

Lanai

Lānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....

 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...

. Common names include Koa Seedworm, Klu Tortricid, Koa Seed Moth, Litchi Borer, Litchi Moth, Macadamia Nut Borer and Macadamia Nut Moth.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 12-25 mm. It is an extremely variable species.

The larvae feed on a wide range of plants. Recorded food plants are Acacia confusa

Acacia confusa

Acacia confusa is a perennial tree native to South-East Asia. Some common names for it are Acacia Petit Feuille, Small Philippine Acacia, Formosa Acacia and Formosan Koa. It grows to a height of 15m...

, Acacia farnesiana, Acacia koa, Acacia koaia

Acacia koaia

Acacia koaia, known as koaia or koaie in Hawaiian, is a tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is closely related to koa , and is sometimes considered to be the same species...

, Alectryon macrococcus

Alectryon macrococcus

Alectryon macrococcus, known as Alaalahua or Māhoe in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering tree in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. A. macrococcus var. macrococcus inhabits mesic forests at elevations of on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and western Maui. A. macrococcus var...

, Caesalpinia kavaiensis

Caesalpinia kavaiensis

Caesalpinia kavaiensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. Common names include Uhiuhi , Kāwau , and Kea . It is threatened by invasive species, particularly feral ungulates.-Description:C...

, Dodonaea viscosa

Dodonaea viscosa

Dodonaea viscosa is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae, that has a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions of Africa, the Americas, southern Asia and Australasia.-Description:...

, Inga edulis

Inga edulis

Inga edulis is a fruit native to South America. It is widely grown, especially by indigenous Amazonians, for shade, food, timber, medicine, and production of the alcoholic beverage cachiri...

, Litchi chinensis

Lychee

The lychee is the sole member of the genus Litchi in the soapberry family, Sapindaceae. It is a tropical and subtropical fruit tree native to Southern China and Southeast Asia, and now cultivated in many parts of the world...

, Macadamia ternifolia, Mangifera indica

Mangifera indica

Mangifera indica is a species of mango in the Anacardiaceae family. It is found in the wild in India and cultivated varieties have been introduced to other warm regions of the world...

, Phaseolus

Phaseolus

Phaseolus is a genus in the family Fabaceae of about fifty plant species, all native to the Americas.At least four of the species have been domesticated since pre-Columbian times for their beans. Most prominent among these is the common bean, P...

, Pithecellobium dulce

Pithecellobium dulce

Pithecellobium dulce is a species of flowering plant in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It is introduced and extensively naturalised in the Caribbean, Florida, Guam and Southeast Asia. It is considered an invasive species in Hawaii.It...

, Sapindus oahuensis

Sapindus oahuensis

Sapindus oahuensis, commonly known as Āulu or Lonomea, is a species of soapberry that is endemic to Hawaii. It can be found in dry, coastal mesic, and mixed mesic forests at elevations of on the islands of Kauai and Oahu . Āulu reaches a height of and a trunk diameter of...

, Sapindus saponaria

Sapindus saponaria

Sapindus saponaria is a small to medium-sized deciduous tree native to the Americas. Common names include wingleaf soapberry, western soapberry, jaboncillo, and mānele . Its genus name, "Sapindus", comes from the Latin, meaning Indian soap, and its specific epithet means "soapy."-Subspecies:*S. s....

, and Senna surattensis. They are particularly fond of the developing seeds of Acacia

Acacia

Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...

. Each larva may eat several seeds and may leave one seed pod and enter another. In addition to feeding on the seeds, the larvae also feed upon the pulp of the pods. The larvae are whitish and often have a pink tinge.

The pupal period lasts 8-12 days. When the pupa is first formed it is light brown, then gradually becomes darker, and when time for adult emergence it is almost black.

External links

• Insects of Hawaii. Volume 9, Microlepidoptera