Kingdom Animalia Family Batrachedridae Scientific name Batrachedra arenosella Rank Species | Class Insecta Genus Batrachedra Phylum Arthropoda Order Butterflies and moths | |
Similar Batrachedra, Butterflies and moths, Cosmopterix attenuatella, Batrachedridae, Anatrachyntis | ||
Batrachedra arenosella, the coconut moth, is a species of moth of the Batrachedridae family found in India, Indonesia, Malaya, and La Réunion, as well as New Zealand and Australia, from the Northern Territory and northern Queensland to New South Wales and South Australia. B. arenosella was first described by Francis Walker in 1864.
The wingspan is about 10 mm. Adults' fore wings are speckled brown, and have fringes along the inner margin that are longer than the width of the rest of the wing. The hind wings are narrower, and have fringes along the costa and even longer ones along the inner margin. The antennae are longer than the fore wings.
The larvae have been reported damaging flowers of coconut palms, but other records suggest the larvae feed on seeds of Juncus species or are predatory. Larvae have been found living in a webbing on a Eucalyptus species and feeding on small scale insects living there.