Five new species of Hawaiian endemic fancy case caterpillars from a recently established forest reserve on Maui (Cosmopterigidae: Hyposmocoma)

Abstract

We here describe five new species of Hawaiian fancy case caterpillars, Hyposmocoma Butler (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae), from East Maui: Hyposmocoma (Hyposmocoma) starrorum sp. n., H. (H.) kukilakila sp. n., H. (H.) makaohuna sp. n., H. (H.) kamehamenui sp. n., and H. (H.) desilvai sp. n. They were collected during biodiversity surveys of the recently established Kamehamenui State Forest Reserve. All newly described species are endemic to East Maui, and likely even restricted to particular parts of Haleakalā. They represent a fraction of the undescribed diversity in the endemic genus Hyposmocoma and the discovery of these new species suggests that conservation initiatives and access to reserves will reveal significant additional diversity in one of Hawaiʻi’s most diverse adaptive radiations.

Camiel Doorenweerd

Junior Researcher Insect Systematics and Conservation

My research interests include macro-evolution, speciation, plant-insect interactions, bioinformatics and entomology