Hyposmocoma wahikanake
Encyclopedia
Hyposmocoma wahikanake is a species of moth
of the Cosmopterigidae
family. It is endemic to Lanai
.
The wingspan
is 7.7 mm for males and 6.2–7.1 mm for females.
The larvae have been reared on lichens growing on the bark of Casuarina
and Eucalyptus
species. The larvae live in a larval case which has the form of a candywrapper-shaped structure with one entrance at each end. In the wild, it is covered with bits of lichen and has a bright green, yellow or orange appearance depending on the type of lichen used.
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 Lanai
Lanai
Lānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....
.
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 7.7 mm for males and 6.2–7.1 mm for females.
The larvae have been reared on lichens growing on the bark of Casuarina
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
and Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
species. The larvae live in a larval case which has the form of a candywrapper-shaped structure with one entrance at each end. In the wild, it is covered with bits of lichen and has a bright green, yellow or orange appearance depending on the type of lichen used.