University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers identified 10 new species and seven new groups (genera) of Hawaiian leaf-roller moths. While new species are frequently discovered, the description of a new genus of insects is a much rarer event; seven groups at once is almost unheard of. Discovered by College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) graduate student Kyhl Austin and Professor Daniel Rubinoff, this research highlights how much Native Hawaiian biodiversity remains a mystery.
Some species are brilliantly colored—almost iridescent—while another species from Hawaiʻi Island is potentially the largest member of its family in the world.
"Hawaiʻi is a world-renowned laboratory for evolution, but these moths have been hiding their true history in plain sight," said lead author Austin. "By identifying these seven new genera, we are showing that these insects crossed thousands of miles of open ocean to reach Hawaiʻi far more frequently than we ever imagined."
Despite their small size, leaf-roller moths have proven to be one of the most effective long-distance travelers among any native Hawaiian animals. Evidence suggests they arrived in the islands through as many as 20 independent natural colonization events over several million years, an unprecedented number for any animal group in Hawaiʻi.
Honoring Hawaiian ecology, culture
This work also reorganizes species that had been incorrectly grouped together, creating a roadmap for future conservation and research.
The researchers have proposed several new names that honor Hawaiian ecology and culture:
- Genus Iliahia: Named for its host plant, the endangered ʻiliahi (sandalwood). One new species, Iliahia pahulu, is considered critically endangered and is known only from a small grove of approximately 30 sandalwood trees on Lānaʻi.
- The discovery includes Paalua leleole, which exhibits a rare "flightless" form in females, and Iliahia lilinoe, named after the goddess of the mists on Haleakalā.
Many of the newly described species are already on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss and the decline of their specific host plants. Some species described in the paper are noted as "presumed extinct," as they have not been seen in the wild for more than 100 years. Protecting these uniquely Hawaiian animals requires a wide effort to restore native habitats and eliminate invasive species.
The discovery is a "testament to what was here and what we've lost," said Rubinoff. "We are naming species just as they are disappearing."
The research was conducted through the Entomology Section in CTAHR. The team used advanced "automontage" photography to create highly detailed, 3D-like images of the specimens, which will be used to help conservationists identify these rare insects in the field.
