Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Plutellidae Scientific name Prays fulvocanella | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Prays Rank Species | |
Prays fulvocanella is a moth in the Plutellidae family. It seems endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The type locality is Kaholuamano.
The host plant is unknown, but they might feed on the buds and seeds of Platydesma or the flowers of Fagara hawaiiensis.
Taxonomy
This species has been recorded from Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui, Lanai and Hawaii, but research of the male genitalia of paratypes from the Waianae Mountains (Oahu), Lanai and Hawaii suggests they represent three distinct new species. When originally describing the species, Walsingham had 42 specimens. He erroneously considered them all to represent one species which, he said, "varies considerably in size and in the amount of brown suffusion".
References
Prays fulvocanella Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA