''Plutella capparidis'' is a
moth of the family
Plutellidae endemic to the Hawaiian islands of
Kauai
Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
and
Oahu. It was first described by Otto Swezey in 1920.
The light green larvae feed on ''
Capparis sandwichiana''. They mostly feed on the surface of the leaves, eating one epidermis and the parenchyma and leaving the other epidermis, which shows as dead spots in the leaves. Occasionally, the larvae may
mine within the leaf. Usually they are exposed, but sometimes covered by a slight web. The cocoon is made on the surface of the leaf.
External links
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Plutellidae
Endemic moths of Hawaii
Moths described in 1920
{{Yponomeutoidea-stub