Hyposmocoma ekaha

Hyposmocoma ekaha is a species of moth of the family Cosmopterigidae. It was first described by Otto Herman Swezey in 1910. It is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The type locality is the Halawa Valley.

Hyposmocoma ekaha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Cosmopterigidae
Genus:
Hyposmocoma
Species:
H. ekaha
Binomial name
Hyposmocoma ekaha
Swezey, 1910
Synonyms
  • Euhyposmocoma ekaha
  • Euhyposmocoma akaha Swezey, 1915 (misspelling)
  • Euhyposmocoma asplenii T. B. Fletcher, 1929

The larvae feed on Asplenium nidus.

This moth occurs wherever the fern is found in the mountain valleys of Oahu. The larvae feed on the under surface of the frond, leaving the upper epidermis intact, which dries and gives the frond the appearance of having numerous dead patches. The older larvae also bore into the rachis, and each has a tunnel of silk and frass extending out onto the frond to its feeding place. It apparently hides in the bored rachis except when out feeding

— Otto Herman Swezey, 1954:86
  • Zimmerman, Elwood C. (1978). Insects of Hawaii. 9 Microlepidoptera. The University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu. hdl:10125/7338.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.