Hellinsia nephogenes 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 Pterophoridae family. It is found on the Galapagos Islands

Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...

 (Floreana, Isabela and Santa Cruz).

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 14-17 mm. The antennae are white at the base and dark brown apically. The head is basally beige. The thorax is beige. The forewings are grey, covered with basally beige and apically brown scales and completely white scales near the middle. The hindwings are dark grey, covered with brown scales. Adults have been recorded in March, July, August and December.

The larvae feed on Scalesia affinis

Scalesia affinis

Scalesia affinis Hook. is a species of flowering plant in the Asteraceae family.It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.It is one of the most widely distributed Scalesia species and occurs on four major islands: Fernandina Island, Isabela Island , Santa Cruz Island and Floreana...

.