''Ascalenia semnostola'' 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 ...

in the family

Cosmopterigidae The Cosmopterigidae are a family of insects (cosmet moths) in the order Lepidoptera. These are small moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previ ...

. It was described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854 – 31 March 1938) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern microlepidoptera systematics. Life and work Ed ...

in 1897. It was described from the Australian state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, but has also been recorded from

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 ...

. This species feeds on ''

Acacia decurrens ''Acacia decurrens'', commonly known as black wattle or early green wattle, is a perennial tree or shrub native to eastern New South Wales, including Sydney, the Greater Blue Mountains Area, the Hunter Region, and southwest to the Australian Capi ...

'' forming an elongate three-sided chamber with silk. The adults have a wingspan of 8–12 mm.Meyrick, 1897. Descriptions of Australian Micro-Lepidoptera. XVII. Elachistidae ''Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales''. 22 (2): 356

References

Moths described in 1897 Ascalenia Moths of Africa Moths of Australia {{Chrysopeleiinae-stub