Erechthias simulans
Encyclopedia
Erechthias simulans is a moth
of the Tineidae
family. It is known from Australia
, the Solomons, Fiji
, Hawaii
, Samoa
, Ellice
, the Society Islands
, the Marquesas Islands
, eastern Africa
.
The wingspan
is 15–20 mm. Adults are black or dark brown with white forewings. There is a well-developed tuft of long, rather stiff hairs near the base of the upper side of the hindwing in the male. This tuft is represented in the female by only a few finer hairs. The forewing tips are strongly upturned.
The larvae are scavengers in dead wood (particularly the bark and outer parts of stems and trunks), and they have been recorded from Coffea
, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Samanea saman
, Sapindus oahuensis
and other trees.
Pupation takes place in a tough cocoon in a tunnel in which the caterpillar has lived. The pupa is about 10 mm long.
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 Tineidae
Tineidae
Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in over 300 genera. Most of the tineid moths are small or medium-sized, with wings held roofwise over the body at rest...
family. It is known from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the Solomons, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, Ellice
Ellice
Ellice is a former provincial electoral division in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was created by redistribution in 1979 and eliminated in 1989.The riding was located in west-central Winnipeg, in the area of the future Minto and St...
, the Society Islands
Society Islands
The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...
, the Marquesas Islands
Marquesas Islands
The Marquesas Islands enana and Te Fenua `Enata , both meaning "The Land of Men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific Ocean. The Marquesas are located at 9° 00S, 139° 30W...
, eastern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
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 15–20 mm. Adults are black or dark brown with white forewings. There is a well-developed tuft of long, rather stiff hairs near the base of the upper side of the hindwing in the male. This tuft is represented in the female by only a few finer hairs. The forewing tips are strongly upturned.
The larvae are scavengers in dead wood (particularly the bark and outer parts of stems and trunks), and they have been recorded from Coffea
Coffea
Coffea is a genus of flowering plants in the Rubiaceae family. They are shrubs or small trees native to tropical and southern Africa and tropical Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded...
, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Samanea saman
Samanea saman
Albizia samanalso known as samanea saman, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Neotropics. Its range extends from Mexico south to Peru and Brazil, but it has been widely introduced to South and Southeast Asia, as well as the Pacific Islands, including...
, 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...
and other trees.
Pupation takes place in a tough cocoon in a tunnel in which the caterpillar has lived. The pupa is about 10 mm long.