''Schrankia howarthi'' 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

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. It normally occurs within the twilight to dark zone areas of lava tubes on the islands of

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

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 ...

, however, it is sometimes found flying on the surface of both islands. The paler morph may be restricted to the dark zone of lava tubes. The length of the forewings is 4–8 mm. Adults and larvae are active throughout the year. The larvae mainly feed on the roots of ''

Metrosideros polymorpha ''Metrosideros polymorpha'', the ''ōhia lehua'', is a species of flowering evergreen tree in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that is endemic to the six largest islands of Hawaii. It is a highly variable tree, being tall in favorable situations, ...

'', the dominant native rainforest tree and early pioneer on new lava flows. However, cocoons and feeding damage have been observed on most types of available roots in caves, including ''

Grevillea robusta ''Grevillea robusta'', commonly known as the southern silky oak, silk oak or silky oak, silver oak or Australian silver oak, is a flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It is a tree, the largest species in its genus but is not closely rela ...

'', ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...

'' species, ''

Cocculus orbiculatus ''Cocculus orbiculatus'', the queen coralbead, is a species of woody vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas ...

'', pasture grasses and many unidentified roots. Larvae are also attracted to a variety of rotting baits and appear to act as scavengers in caves.

Etymology

The species is named in honour of Dr. Frank Howarth, an entomologist at the

Bernice P. Bishop Museum The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the larg ...

who has pioneered Hawaiian biospeleogy. Dr Howarth first discovered this species in

Kazumura Cave Kazumura Cave is a lava tube and has been surveyed at 40.7 miles (65.5 km) long and 3,614 feet (1,102 m) deep making it the longest and deepest lava tube in the world. The cave is located on the island of Hawaiʻi on the eastern slope of Kīla ...

External links

Evolution of cave living in Hawaiian ''Schrankia'' (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with description of a remarkable new cave species
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7432815 Endemic moths of Hawaii Hypenodinae