''Epicephala corruptrix'' 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 ...

of the family

Gracillariidae Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, ''Camerar ...

. It is found on the

Ryukyu Archipelago The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonagun ...

(Amami Island, Tokuno Island, Okinawa Island, Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island). Epicephala corruptrix living

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 7.2–8.8 mm. The forewings are brown with a narrow white band on the dorsum from the base to 2/3 of the entire length and with two pairs of narrow white bands beginning at the costal and dorsal margin near 1/2 to 3/4 length of the wing and extending obliquely toward the wing apex, terminating before reaching mid-width of the wing. The dorso-distal band is accompanied by another parallel band of same size on the distal position and there is a narrow silver band with metallic reflection extending from the costa to the dorsum at 5/6 length. The distal 1/6 is orange-brown with a black dot centrally, franked by short white band near the dorsum. The distal end is fringed with a narrow white band. The hindwings are brown. The larvae feed on the seeds of ''

Glochidion obovatum ''Glochidion'' is a genus of flowering plants, of the family Phyllanthaceae, known as cheese trees or buttonwood in Australia, and leafflower trees in the scientific literature. It comprises about 300 species, distributed from Madagascar to ...

'' and ''

Glochidion rubrum ''Glochidion'' is a genus of flowering plants, of the family Phyllanthaceae, known as cheese trees or buttonwood in Australia, and leafflower trees in the scientific literature. It comprises about 300 species, distributed from Madagascar to ...

''.

Etymology

The species name is inherited from ''

Tegeticula corruptrix ''Tegeticula corruptrix'' is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in North America in south-western California, Arizona, New Mexico, northern Coahuila, western and southern Texas, Colorado, Alberta, the western plains of Nebraska, Wyomin ...

'', a derived parasitic species of yucca moth. ''Epicephala corruptrix'' has a potential to corrupt the mutualistic relationship with its host because the species induces gall formation in pollinated flowers which then hardly produce seeds.

References

Epicephala Moths described in 2016 {{Gracillariinae-stub