Some species are brilliantly colored—almost iridescent—while another species from Hawaiʻi Island is potentially the largest member of its family in the world.

"Hawaiʻi is a world-renowned laboratory for evolution, but these moths have been hiding their true history in plain sight," said lead author Austin. "By identifying these seven new genera, we are showing that these insects crossed thousands of miles of open ocean to reach Hawaiʻi far more frequently than we ever imagined."

Despite their small size, leaf-roller moths have proven to be one of the most effective long-distance travelers among any native Hawaiian animals. Evidence suggests they arrived in the islands through as many as 20 independent natural colonization events over several million years, an unprecedented number for any animal group in Hawaiʻi. The study is published in the journal Zootaxa.

Honoring Hawaiian ecology, culture

This work also reorganizes species that had been incorrectly grouped together, creating a roadmap for future conservation and research.

The researchers have proposed several new names that honor Hawaiian ecology and culture:

• Genus Iliahia: Named for its host plant, the endangered ʻiliahi (sandalwood). One new species, Iliahia pahulu, is considered critically endangered and is known only from a small grove of approximately 30 sandalwood trees on Lānaʻi.
• The discovery includes Paalua leleole, which exhibits a rare "flightless" form in females, and Iliahia lilinoe, named after the goddess of the mists on Haleakalā.