Researchers track declining habitat of a native moth

In a study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources compared the historical and modern-day distributions of a Native Hawaiian leafroller moth, tracking its steep decline and exploring possible causes for this decline.

The moth, Omiodes continuatalis, used to be one of the most common native moths in Hawaiʻi during the early 1900s, when it was widespread across all the main Hawaiian Islands. Over the last century, however, populations have declined dramatically. The moth is now extinct on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi but is still found from news release