| Oxyptilus wallecei | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Clade: | Euarthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pterophoridae |
| Genus: | Oxyptilus |
| Species: | O. wallecei |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxyptilus wallecei T. B. Fletcher, 1911 | |
Oxyptilus wallecei is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It was described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1911 and is found on the Aru Islands in Indonesia. [1]
Moths comprise a group of insects related to butterflies, belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Most lepidopterans are moths, and there are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.
The Pterophoridae or plume moths are a family of Lepidoptera with unusually modified wings. Though they belong to the Apoditrysia like the larger moths and the butterflies, unlike these they are tiny and were formerly included among the assemblage called "microlepidoptera".
Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher was an English entomologist. Although an amateur lepidopterist who worked in the Royal Navy, he became an expert on "microlepidoptera" and was appointed as the second Imperial Entomologist in India to succeed Harold Maxwell Lefroy. Although only an amateur entomologist, he is credited with reorganizing entomological research in India by coordinating and directing research, efficient sharing of findings and a reduction in duplication of research work.
