''Thiotricha tenuis'' is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Gelechiidae The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy (biology), taxonomy ...

. It was described by

Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham (29 July 1843 – 3 December 1919), of Merton Hall, Norfolk, was an English politician and amateur entomologist. Family business Walsingham was the son of Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham, and Augusta- ...

, in 1891. It is found on the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 9–10 mm. The forewings are shining white, with the apex, one costal, and two dorsal oblique streaks, greyish brown. The first dorsal streak commences at one-fourth from the base, is short, stout, outwardly oblique, and reaches to the fold. The second dorsal streak commences about the middle of the dorsal margin, is wide at its base, tapering upwards in a very oblique outward direction, crossing the fold, and attenuated to a slender line in the direction of the apex, before which it meets the scarcely less oblique but much shorter costal streak, which commences at about one-third from the apex. Beyond and near the costal streak is a greyish brown shade extending to the apex and at the extreme apex is a dark brown spot narrowly set in white, to which two slender greyish brown streaks running through the white apical cilia give an eye-like effect. These streaks are bent downward at the apex, and, together with a large patch of brown scales in the subapical cilia, increase the falcate appearance to the wing-tip. They are distinctly visible on the under side. The hindwings are pale shining grey.Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1891 (1) : 96
The larvae have been recorded feeding on ''

Morinda citrifolia ''Morinda citrifolia'' is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to Southeast Asia and Australasia, which was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. The species is now cultivated throughout the tropics and widel ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Thiotricha tenuis tenuis'' *''Thiotricha tenuis subtenuis'' Legrand, 1965 (Menai)

References

Moths described in 1891 Thiotricha {{Thiotrichinae-stub