Hyposmocoma moopalikea
Encyclopedia
Hyposmocoma moopalikea is a species of moth
of the Cosmopterigidae
family. It is endemic to Maui
. The species belongs to the amphibious caterpillar
guild of the Hyposmocoma
genus.
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 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,...
. The species belongs to the amphibious caterpillar
Amphibious caterpillar
Amphibious caterpillar refers to 12 as-yet unnamed species of caterpillars endemic to Hawaii are the only insects that live as readily in water as on land. In 2010, Daniel Rubinoff and Patrick Schmitz at the University of Hawaii at Manoa first described the amphibious habits of the larvae in the...
guild of the 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...
genus.