''Cryptophasa nephrosema'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

in the family

Xyloryctidae Xyloryctidae is a family of moths contained within the superfamily Gelechioidea described by Edward Meyrick in 1890. Most genera are found in the Indo-Australian region. While many of these moths are tiny, some members of the family grow to a w ...

. It was described by Alfred Jefferis Turner in 1898. It is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

. The

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

is about 35 mm. The forewings are white finely irrorated with pale grey and with three conspicuous blotches in the disc, pale-grey outlined with fuscous. The first is rather obscure near the base, the second before the middle, irregularly constricted at and above the fold and the third beyond the middle, reniform. There are three fuscous spots on the costa, the first at two-fifths nearly confluent with the second blotch, the second and third at three-fifths and four-fifths. There is an ill-defined greyish suffusion between the third blotch and the hindmargin, as well as a row of fuscous dots along the hindmargin. The hindwings are fuscous, towards the base and inner margin whitish. The larvae feed on ''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'' species, including '' Melaleuca leucodendra'', '' Melaleuca quinquenervia'' and ''

Melaleuca armillaris ''Melaleuca armillaris'', commonly known as bracelet honey myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is native to South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania in south-eastern Australia. It is a hardy, commonly grown species, often us ...

''. They bore in the stem of their host plant.Xyloryctine Moths of Australia
/ref>

References

Cryptophasa Moths described in 1898 {{Xyloryctidae-stub