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".
Elwood Curtin Zimmerman was an American entomologist best known for his two multivolume series: Insects of Hawaii published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press and Australian Weevils published by Australia's CSIRO.
Cosmoclostis hemiadelpha is a species of moth of the family Pterophoridae described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1947. It is found in Australia in Queensland and in New Guinea.
The Insects of Hawaii series, now under the editorship of James K. Liebherr of Cornell University, aims to provide a collaborative, comprehensive, taxonomy of all known Hawaiian insect fauna. So far, more than 5,000 native arthropod species have been described. Only vols. 1, 16, and 17 are still in print, but the out-of-print volumes are being scanned and added to the University of Hawaii's digital repository.
Lantanophaga pusillidactyla, the lantana plume moth, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is native to the southern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. It was introduced to Australia accidentally in 1936 and is now found from Sydney to Cairns along the coast. It has also been introduced to Hawaii in 1902, Pohnpei in 1948, and Palau in 1960 for biological control. It has since been recorded from Yap in 1987–1988 and is now distributed on all islands of the Mariana and Caroline Islands where the host plant is found, except Aguijan.
Exelastis pumilio is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It has worldwide tropical distribution, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Japan, Micronesia, South Africa the Virgin Islands as well as Queensland and New Guinea.
Stenoptilodes taprobanes is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. This species has a pantropical distribution, which extends into subtropical areas.
Pterophorus albidus is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is distributed in Africa, south and south-east Asia, including New Guinea and Australia, as well as Japan (Kyushu) and the Ryukyu Islands.
Hellinsia beneficus is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is native to Mexico, but was introduced to Hawaii in 1973 as a biological control agent against mistflower, Ageratina riparia.
Stenoptilodes littoralis is a moth of the family Pterophoridae that is only known from the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Hawaii. Though it is only known from the Hawaiian Islands, it may be an introduced species.
Lioptilodes albistriolatus is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. In South America and Central America it has been recorded from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru and Puerto Rico. It is also present in North America, where it is known from Mexico, California, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.
Leptodeuterocopus neales is a moth of the family Pterophoridae that is known from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Suriname, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. It has recently been recorded from Florida.
Megalorhipida is a genus of moths in the family Pterophoridae described by Hans Georg Amsel in 1935. Species in this genus are distributed in pantropical and subtropical climates. The species typically nests on host plants in the families Nyctaginaceae, Amaranthaceae, Fabaceae, Goodeniaceae, Asteraceae, and Verbenaceae. The generic name is often misspelled as Megalorrhipida. The species formerly placed in the genus Antarches are now considered to belong to this genus.
Exelastis montischristi is a species of moth in the genus Exelastis known from Hispaniola, Ecuador, Grenada, Jamaica, Martinique, the Virgin Islands, Florida and Texas. It has also been recorded from Tanzania.
Anstenoptilia hugoiella is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is known from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
Stockophorus charitopa is a moth of the family Pterophoridae and the only member of the genus Stockophorus. It is known from Bolivia.
Singularia is a genus of moths in the family Pterophoridae. It includes all species formerly placed in the genus Chocophorus and five new species described in 2016.
Anstenoptilia is a genus of moths in the family Pterophoridae.
Pterophorinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Pterophoridae.
Melanoptilia is a genus of moths in the family Pterophoridae described by Cees Gielis in 2006. All described species come from Latin America.
