Hyposmocoma carnivora
Encyclopedia
Hyposmocoma carnivora is a species of moth
of the Cosmopterigidae
family. It is endemic to Hawaii
.
The wingspan
is 10.2–12 mm for males and about 11.1 mm for females.
The larvae have been reared on snails of the Tornatellides
genus and pupae of Drosophila melanogaster
. They have also been observed praying on other Hyposmocoma
larvae and even cannibalise larvae of their own species. The larvae live in a larval case which has the form of an elongated structure with one entrance at each end. It is decorated with bits of sand, pebbles and plant fibers, finely woven between silk filaments. It is covered with orange beige scales probably deposited by the adults during emergence.
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 Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae
Cosmopterigidae is a family of insects in the Lepidoptera order. These are small moths with narrow wings whose tiny larvae feed internally on the leaves, seeds, stems, etc of their host plants. There are about 1,500 described species...
family. It is endemic to 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 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 10.2–12 mm for males and about 11.1 mm for females.
The larvae have been reared on snails of the Tornatellides
Tornatellides
Tornatellides is a genus of minute, air-breathing land snails, terrestrial gastropod mollusks, or micromolluscs in the family Achatinellidae.-Predators:These very small snails are preyed upon by caterpillars of the moth Hyposmocoma molluscivora....
genus and pupae of Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster
Drosophila melanogaster is a species of Diptera, or the order of flies, in the family Drosophilidae. The species is known generally as the common fruit fly or vinegar fly. Starting from Charles W...
. They have also been observed praying on other Hyposmocoma
Hyposmocoma
Hyposmocoma is a large and diverse genus of moths with 320-350 known species that have adapted to nearly every ecological niche on the Hawaiian Islands. Most species have plant-based diets. In four species of Hyposmocoma caterpillars spin silk that they use to capture snails, on which they prey...
larvae and even cannibalise larvae of their own species. The larvae live in a larval case which has the form of an elongated structure with one entrance at each end. It is decorated with bits of sand, pebbles and plant fibers, finely woven between silk filaments. It is covered with orange beige scales probably deposited by the adults during emergence.