''Palaephatus albicerus'' is a moth of the family

Palaephatidae Palaephatoidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Lepidoptera with a single family, Palaephatidae with seven known genera. These "Gondwanaland moths" exhibit a disjunct distribution occurring mainly in South America (Davis, 1986), with fou ...

. It was described by

Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...

in 1986. It is found in Chile, from the southern limits of the Coquimbo Desert in the Choapa Province, south through the coastal ranges to Valdivia and Petrohue. The length of the forewings is 8.5–10 mm for males and 10–11 mm for females. Adult males have white and females yellowish white forewings. The forewings are lightly suffused with gray over the distal half of the wing and have a faint, pale fuscous oblique fascia across the middle of the wing. They are on wing from September to March, possibly in multiple generations per year."A New Family of Monotrysian Moths from Austral South America (Lepidoptera: Palaephatidae), with a Phylogenetic Review of the Monotrysia"
by Donald R. Davis.

Etymology

The specific name is derived from Latin ''albicerus'' (meaning yellowish white) and refers to the forewing ground color, especially of the female.

References

Moths described in 1986 Palaephatidae Taxa named by Donald R. Davis (entomologist) Endemic fauna of Chile {{Palaephatoidea-stub