Hyposmocoma laysanensis
Encyclopedia
Hyposmocoma laysanensis is a species of moth
of the Cosmopterigidae
family. It is endemic to Laysan
. The type locality is Guano Rock.
The wingspan
is 5.2–7.7 mm.
The larval case consists of a cone-shaped structure, which is 4.5–6.0 mm in length, small and thin and decorated with bits of sand, and probably guano, woven with silk filaments. The aperture is covered with an operculum and decorated with small pebbles, or sand grains fastened by silk. The background color ranges from off-white to gray.
Adults were reared from case-making larvae. Larvae were collected on rocks, sometimes disposed in a pile, on the island of Laysan. When disturbed, larvae were observed to tightly close the operculum of their case with their mandibles. The abundance of the cases suggests that the species is very common on Laysan.
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 Laysan
Laysan
Laysan , located northwest of Honolulu at N25° 42' 14" W171° 44' 04", is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of , about 1 by 1.5 miles in size . It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow central lake some above sea level that has...
. The type locality is Guano Rock.
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 5.2–7.7 mm.
The larval case consists of a cone-shaped structure, which is 4.5–6.0 mm in length, small and thin and decorated with bits of sand, and probably guano, woven with silk filaments. The aperture is covered with an operculum and decorated with small pebbles, or sand grains fastened by silk. The background color ranges from off-white to gray.
Adults were reared from case-making larvae. Larvae were collected on rocks, sometimes disposed in a pile, on the island of Laysan. When disturbed, larvae were observed to tightly close the operculum of their case with their mandibles. The abundance of the cases suggests that the species is very common on Laysan.