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.