Spheterista, Meyrick, 1912

Austin, Kyhl A. & Rubinoff, Daniel, 2023, Rediscoveries and Presumed Extinctions of Hawaiian Leaf-roller Moths (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 55, pp. 11-27 : 17

“ Spheterista ” flavocincta

(Walsingham)

Presumed extinct

This species was described from a single female collected by Perkins in 1892 near Kona, Hawaiʻi island at an elevation of 4000 ft. Walsingham (1907) described the male of this species as

Capua trigonifer , later synonymized by Zimmerman (1978). Records of this species on islands other than Hawaiʻi island are likely erroneous. Capua santalata Swezey , described from Oʻahu and currently considered a junior synonym of “ S.” flavocincta, is still extant and probably deserves its species status restored. True “ S.” flavocincta appears to be endemic to Hawaiʻi island and has not been collected since 1911. It probably fed on Santalum spp. (Santalaceae) like its close relatives.