''Hyposmocoma auropurpurea'' 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

Cosmopterigidae The Cosmopterigidae are a family of insects (cosmet moths) in the order Lepidoptera. These are small moths with narrow wings whose tiny larvae feed internally on the leaves, seeds and stems of their host plants. About 1500 species are described. ...

. It was first described by Lord Walsingham in 1907. It is endemic to the Hawaiian island of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

. The type locality is the

Waianae Range Waianae () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 13,614. Its name means "waters of the mullet". Its etymology is shared with the far northern Wellington sub ...

. The length of the forewings 4.8–5 mm for males and 5.2–5.5 mm for females. The species is unique among ''

Hyposmocoma ''Hyposmocoma'' is a genus of moths with more 350 species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. The genus was first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1881. Most species of ''Hyposmocoma'' have plant-based diets, but four species, such as '' Hypos ...

'' species because it has metallic purple wings with a narrow, diagonal orange band near the wing apex. The larval case is dark brown, smooth, 7–9 mm in length and 1.7–2 mm wide. Case-making larvae have been collected from October to April. Larvae were found in leaf litter, but also on leaves of living plants, such as ''

Pittosporum ''Pittosporum'' ( or ) is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Pittosporaceae. The genus is probably Gondwanan in origin; its present range extends from Australasia, Oceania, eastern Asia and some parts of Africa. ''Cit ...

'' species.Three new species of Fancy Case caterpillars from threatened forests of Hawaii (Lepidoptera, Cosmopterigidae, Hyposmocoma)
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References

External links

* auropurpurea Endemic moths of Hawaii Moths described in 1907 Taxa named by Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham {{Hyposmocoma-stub