''Erechthias kerri'' is a

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

Tineidae Tineidae is a family of moths in the order Lepidoptera described by Pierre André Latreille in 1810. Collectively, they are known as fungus moths or tineid moths. The family contains considerably more than 3,000 species in more than 300 genera. ...

. It was first described by Otto Swezey in 1926. It is found in the Pacific region, including the

French Frigate Shoals The French Frigate Shoals ( Hawaiian: Kānemilohai) is the largest atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Its name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the ...

, Lisianski,

Laysan Laysan (; haw, italics=no, Kauō ), located northwest of Honolulu at , is one of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It comprises one land mass of , about in size. It is an atoll of sorts, although the land completely surrounds a shallow ...

, the

Pearl and Hermes Reef The Pearl and Hermes Atoll ( haw, Holoikauaua), also known as Pearl and Hermes Reef, is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. Th ...

Johnston Island Johnston Atoll is an unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Nation ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Color variations

There is much variation in the color pattern of the forewings. The forewings vary from nearly immaculate pale straw colored through variable maculations with dark brown scales to individuals that have extensive dark scaling. Unlike the wings of most of the species of ''

Erechthias ''Erechthias'' is a genus of the fungus moth family, Tineidae. Therein, it belongs to the subfamily Erechthiinae, of which it is the type genus. The exact circumscription of this genus is still disputed, but it may encompass more than 150 species ...

'', the tips of the forewings are not upturned. If the wing tips are viewed when the wings are spread, the tips appear to be somewhat turned downward.

Development stages

The larvae feed on dead bunch grass, ''

Eragrostis ''Eragrostis'' is a large and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found in many countries on all inhabited continents and many islands. ''Eragrostis'' is commonly known as lovegrass or canegrass. The name of the genus is derived fr ...

'' and ''

Nicotiana ''Nicotiana'' () is a genus of herbaceous plants and shrubs in the Family (biology), family Solanaceae, that is Native plant, indigenous to the Americas, Australia, Southwestern Africa and the South Pacific. Various ''Nicotiana'' species, common ...

'' species. The cocoon is composed of white silk with closely packed white coral reef sand, plant fragments, dried insect feces, and other debris. The cocoons give the appearance of being larval cases.

External links

* Erechthiinae Moths described in 1926 {{Tineidae-stub