Ethmia nigroapicella, commonly known as the kou leafworm, is a moth of the family Depressariidae. It is found in Madagascar, the Seychelles, India, Assam, Burma, Samoa, the Philippines, Hawaii, Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

Ethmia nigroapicella
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Depressariidae
Genus: Ethmia
Species:
E. nigroapicella
Binomial name
Ethmia nigroapicella
(Saalmüller, 1880)
Synonyms
  • Psecadia nigroapicella Saalmüller, 1880
  • Ethmia colonella Walsingham, 1907
  • Ethmia meteoris Meyrick, 1911
  • Ethmia systematica Meyrick, 1922
  • Psecadia apicalis Matsumura, 1931
Caterpillar

The wingspan is 24–28 mm (0.94–1.10 in). The forewings are overlaid with fifteen black dots on a grey background and a row of seven marginal dots. The hindwings are orange-yellow, but the apical patch is dark brown and covers one-seventh of the hindwing.[1]

The larvae feed on Ehretia species (including Ehretia dicksoni var. japonica, Ehretia laevis and Ehretia buxifolia[citation needed]), as well as on Cordia subcordata and Cordia sebestena.[2][3]

This moth figures on a 25-cent stamp of Kiribati from 1980.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Biota Taiwanica". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-23.
  2. ^ a b "Ethmia nigroapicella".
  3. ^ Zimmerman, Elwood C. (1978). Insects of Hawaii. Vol. 9 Microlepidoptera. The University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu. hdl:10125/7338.
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