Hyposmocoma chilonella is a species of 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 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 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...

, 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,...

, 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...

 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 of the nominate subspecies are whitish and feed on Acacia koa, Aleurites moluccana, Cheirodendron gaudichaudii, Coprosma foliosa and other Coprosma

Coprosma

Coprosma is a genus of 108 species that are found in New Zealand , Hawaii , Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Is. Many species are small shrubs with tiny evergreen leaves, but a few are small trees and have much larger leaves...

species, Metrosideros

Metrosideros

Metrosideros is a genus of approximately 50 trees, shrubs, and vines native to the islands of the Pacific Ocean, from the Philippines to New Zealand and including the Bonin Islands, Polynesia, and Melanesia, with an anomalous outlier in South Africa. Most of the tree forms are small, but some are...

, Pipturus

Pipturus

Pipturus is a flowering plant genus in the nettle family, Urticaceae.-Selected species:* Pipturus albidus A.Gray ex H.Mann – Māmaki * Pipturus arborescens C.B.Rob., 1911...

, Rubus hawaiiensis and Smilax sandwicensis. They bore in dead wood or pith. The larvae of subspecies percondita probably feed on dead wood. Larvae ssp. triocellata of have been recorded boring in dead wood of Cheirodendron

Cheirodendron

Cheirodendron is a genus of flowering plant in the ivy family, Araliaceae. All six species in the genus are endemic to Polynesia. The five Hawaiian species are generally called ōlapa, and occur in wet forests on all major islands as well as some mesic forests, such as Kipuka...

, Hibiscus

Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...

, Pipturus

Pipturus

Pipturus is a flowering plant genus in the nettle family, Urticaceae.-Selected species:* Pipturus albidus A.Gray ex H.Mann – Māmaki * Pipturus arborescens C.B.Rob., 1911...

, Pittosporum

Pittosporum

Pittosporum is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. Citriobatus is usually included here, but might be a distinct genus...

, Rubus hawaiiensis and Wikstroemia

Wikstroemia

Wikstroemia is a genus of 55-70 species of flowering shrubs and small trees in the mezereon family, Thymelaeaceae.-Medicinal uses:Wikstroemia indica is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.-Species:...

. Larvae of ssp. venosa bore in dead wood of Wikstroemia

Wikstroemia

Wikstroemia is a genus of 55-70 species of flowering shrubs and small trees in the mezereon family, Thymelaeaceae.-Medicinal uses:Wikstroemia indica is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.-Species:...

.

Subspecies

• Hyposmocoma chilonella chilonella Walsingham, 1907 (Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Hawaii)
• Hyposmocoma chilonella percondita Walsingham, 1907 (Kauai, Hawaii)
• Hyposmocoma chilonella triocellata Walsingham, 1907 (Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Hawaii)
• Hyposmocoma chilonella venosa Walsingham, 1907 (Kauai, Molokai, Hawaii)

External links

• Insects of Hawaii. Volume 9, Microlepidoptera