University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers identified 10 new species and seven new groups (genera) of Hawaiian leaf-roller moths.
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers identified 10 new species and seven new groups (genera) of Hawaiian leaf-roller moths. While new species are frequently discovered, the description of a new genus of insects is a much rarer event; seven groups at once is almost unheard of. Discovered by College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) graduate student Kyhl Austin and Professor Daniel Rubinoff, this research highlights how much Native Hawaiian biodiversity remains a mystery.
Some species are brilliantly colored—almost iridescent—while another species from Hawaiʻi Island is potentially the largest member of its family in the world.
“Hawaiʻi is a world-renowned laboratory for evolution, but these moths have been hiding their true history in plain sight,” said lead author Austin. “By identifying these seven new genera, we are showing that these insects crossed thousands of miles of open ocean to reach Hawaiʻi far more frequently than we ever imagined.”
Read More: University of Hawaii
This group of Hawaiian moths is named for its host plant, the endangered ʻiliahi (Photo Credit: sandalwood)
