''Mesophleps gigantella'' 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 Gelechiidae. It is found in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 16–26 mm. The forewings are greyish white to yellowish brown, with scattered dark scales, especially on the dorsum.

Etymology

The species name is derived from Latin ''giganteus'' (meaning gigantic) and the postfix -''ellus'' and refers to this being the largest species in the genus ''

Mesophleps ''Mesophleps'' is a genus of moths in the family Gelechiidae. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1825. Species *''albilinella'' species group **'' Mesophleps albilinella'' **'' Mesophleps aspina'' **'' Mesophleps coffeae'' **'' Mesophleps ...

''., 2012: A taxonomic revision of the genus ''Mesophleps'' Hübner, 1825 (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). ''Zootaxa'' 3373: 1-82.

References

Moths described in 2012 Mesophleps {{Anacampsini-stub