. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology. 12. Figs 7-12 7, 8, Thyrocopa apatela (Oecophoridae: Xyloryctinae), Hawaiian Islands (Maui), (7) male, (8) female. 9, 10, Pleurota marginella (Oecophoridae: Oecophorinae), Austria, (9) male, (10) female. 11, 12, Diurnea fagella (Oecophoridae: Chimabachinae), British Isles (England), (11) male, (12) female. Desert, is the only species with a brachypterous female (Powell, 1971, 1973). The female of Dasyethmia hiemalis Danilevsky from Kazakhstan, a species with diurnal males that fly in January in the sunshine and settle on the snow,
. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology. 12. Figs 7-12 7, 8, Thyrocopa apatela (Oecophoridae: Xyloryctinae), Hawaiian Islands (Maui), (7) male, (8) female. 9, 10, Pleurota marginella (Oecophoridae: Oecophorinae), Austria, (9) male, (10) female. 11, 12, Diurnea fagella (Oecophoridae: Chimabachinae), British Isles (England), (11) male, (12) female. Desert, is the only species with a brachypterous female (Powell, 1971, 1973). The female of Dasyethmia hiemalis Danilevsky from Kazakhstan, a species with diurnal males that fly in January in the sunshine and settle on the snow, is still unknown; however, it seems safe to assume with Danilevsky (1969a, 1969ft) that it will prove to be brachypterous. Xyloryctinae In the Xyloryctinae wing reduction is known only in the endemic Hawaiian genus Thyrocopa Meyrick, where it affects two or three of the about 60 species. T. apatela (Walsingham) (Figs 7, 8; Zimmerman, 1978: 937, figs 645, 650, 650-A), is the rare example of an oceanic island species with brachyptery in both sexes in an oreal habitat. It is endemic to East Maui, where it is a member of the aeolian ecosystem in the sparsely vegetated desert- like habitats above 3000 m on the extinct volcano Haleakala (Howarth, 1979: 14). The larva of T. apatela lives in loosely spun sand-clad galleries under small rocks where it feeds on trapped wind- borne organic material, predominantly the dry leaves of Dubautia menziesii Gray (Compositae). The brachypterous moths are unable to fly but run well and are capable of making short jumps. The habitat is exposed to strong winds and extreme temperatures. During a visit in late July 1976 there was frost on the ground at hrs whereas the daytime temperature in the sun was high and the soil felt hot to the touch (pers. obs.). Brachyptery in both sexes suggests the influence of the wind factor; however, Thyrocopa mediomaculata Walsingham, which occurs in the same habitat and has an apparently identical biology, shows
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