Melnea is a gelechioid moth genus usually placed in the cosmet moth family (Cosmopterigidae); its exact relationships are not yet resolved however. Only a single species is known, Melnea armigera. It ranges widely in insular Melanesia and southern Polynesia (Nuku Hiva, Tahiti, Palau, Fiji and the Solomons).[1] Furthermore it had been recorded from the Mauritius, Seychelles and Réunion.[2] Its distribution is the result of accidental introductions by human travellers but its hostplant remains unknown.

Melnea
Scientific classification
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Genus:
Melnea

J.F.G.Clarke, 1986
Species:
M. armigera
Binomial name
Melnea armigera
(Meyrick, 1923)
Synonyms

Ascalenia armigera Meyrick, 1923

References edit

  1. ^ Clarke, J. F. Gates. 1986. "Pyralidae and Microlepidoptera of the Marquesas Archipelago." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 1–485. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.416
  2. ^ Bippus, M., 2021. Eine neue Chrysopeleiinae-Art von den Maskarenischen Inseln (Lepidoptera, Cosmopterigidae). - Atalanta 52 (1/2): 162-164, ISSN 0171-0079