''Brenthia leptocosma'' is a species of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Choreutidae Choreutidae, or metalmark moths, are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order whose relationships have been long disputed. It was placed previously in the superfamily Yponomeutoidea in family Glyphipterigidae and in superfamily Sesioide ...

. It is found on

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

and

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

in the Indian Ocean. This species has a wingspan of 8–9 mm, the head is bronzy-fuscous with a white line above the eyes. The thorax is bronzy-fuscous with five fine white longitudinal lines. The abdomen is dark fuscous. Forewings are elongate-triangular, costa gently arched, dark bronzy-fuscous, irregularly irrorated (speckled) with white and white dots on costa beyond. There is a series of eight small rounded-oblong spots round apex and termen, each centered with a violet-metallic dot. The hindwings are rather dark-fuscous, with a small oblique-oval whitish spot in the middle of the disc, a fine violet-blue-metallic line just before termen from apex to below middle, followed by three or four black spots. This species is similar to '' Brenthia cyanaula'' in markings, but the palpi are quite different and characteristic. Host plants of this species are

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

bushes, (mainly ''

Cordia macrostachya ''Cordia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while ''bocote ...

'' but also ''

Cordia myxa ''Cordia myxa'', the Assyrian plum, is a mid-sized, deciduous tree in the borage family (Boraginaceae), native to Asia. It produces small, edible fruit and is found in warmer areas across Africa and Asia. Other common names include lasura, lav ...

'', '' Cordia abyssinica'' and '' Cordia holstii'').Williams J.R., 1951, ''The bionomics and morphology of Brenthia leptocosma Meyrick''
/ref> but also on '' Ehretia cymosa'' and ''

Cordia africana ''Cordia africana'' or Sudan teak is a mid-sized, white-flowered, evergreen tree in the borage family (Boraginaceae), native to Africa. It produces edible fruit, and its wood is used for drums or other carpentry. Uses ''Cordia africana'' has be ...

''. None of these species are native to Mauritius, nor Réunion.

References

Brenthia Moths of Africa Moths described in 1916 {{choreutidae-stub