Hyposmocoma opuulaau

Hyposmocoma opuulaau
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Cosmopterigidae
Genus:	Hyposmocoma
Species:	H. opuulaau
Binomial name
Hyposmocoma opuulaau P. Schmitz & Rubinoff, 2011

Hyposmocoma opuulaau is a species of moth of the Cosmopterigidae family. It is endemic to Maui.

The wingspan is 6.9–8.5 mm for males and 8.6–8.9 mm for females.

The larvae live in a larval case which has the form of an elongate cone-shaped structure which is decorated with beige, brown, and black bits of sand and dried vegetation woven with silk filaments on the dorsal half of the case. It is bicolored, pale gray to silver and smooth ventrally.^[1]

Etymology

The specific name is derived from the Hawaiian, ‘ōpu‘u (meaning cone) and lā‘au (meaning tree) and refers to the type of case and habitat of this species.

References

1. Ecologically and Morphologically Remarkable New Cosmet Moth Species of the Genus Hyposmocoma (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae) Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands, with Reference to the Spectacular Diversity of Larval Cases