Crambidae

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Crambidae
Scoparia.ambigualis.jpg
Scoparia ambigualis
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Pyraloidea
Family: Crambidae
Latreille, 1810
Type species
Phalaena pascuella
Subfamilies

see text

Diversity
Some 10,347 species

Crambidae comprises the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, with the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly coloured and patterned insects that rest in wing-spread attitudes.

Contents

In many classifications, the Crambidae have been treated as a subfamily of the Pyralidae or snout moths. The principal difference is a structure in the tympanal organs called the praecinctorium, which joins two tympanic membranes in the Crambidae, and is absent from the Pyralidae. The latest review by Munroe and Solis, in Kristensen (1999), retains the Crambidae as a full family. The family currently comprises 15 subfamilies with altogether 10,347 species in over 1,000 genera. [1]


Systematics

Cladogram of Crambidae subfamilies
Pyraloidea

Pyralidae (sister group)

Crambidae

Pyraustinae

Spilomelinae

Odontiinae

Linostinae

Glaphyriinae

Lathrotelinae

Musotiminae

Midilinae

Schoenobiinae

Acentropinae

Hoploscopinae

Erupinae

Heliothelinae

Scopariinae

Crambinae

Crambidae phylogeny after Regier et al. (2012) and Léger et al. (2021) [2] [1]

Relationship with humans

Since crambids are relatively common throughout human settlements, the moths tend to affect crops and gardens, whether harmfully, beneficially or harmlessly. Beneficial crambids include the water hyacinth moth ( Niphograpta albiguttalis ), used to control its host ( Eichhornia crassipes ), [4] the water veneer ( Acentria ephemerella ), a biocontrol agent used against Eurasian watermilfoil, [5] and the bamboo borer ( Omphisa fuscidentalis ), of which the caterpillars are used for human consumption. The mint moth ( Pyrausta aurata ) is an example of a harmless crambid.

Crambid larvae are typically stem borers in plants of the grass family. As this family contains many important crops, some Crambidae species achieve pest status. The European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis is perhaps the best known; introduced to the United States in the early 1900s, it is now widespread in all but the westernmost states. Other pest species include the pearl millet stem borer ( Coniesta ignefusalis ), the spotted stalk borer ( Chilo partellus ), the Asiatic rice borer ( Chilo suppressalis ), sod webworms ( Crambus spp.), Duponchelia fovealis , the sugarcane borer ( Diatraea saccharalis ), bean pod borers ( Maruca spp.), the rice white stemborer ( Scirpophaga innotata ), the southwestern corn borer ( Diatraea grandiosella ), and the grape leaffolder ( Desmia maculalis ).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyralidae</span> Family of moths

The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera. The latest review by Eugene G. Munroe and Maria Alma Solis retain the Crambidae as a full family of Pyraloidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyraloidea</span> Superfamily of moths

The Pyraloidea are a moth superfamily containing about 16,000 described species worldwide, and probably at least as many more remain to be described. They are generally fairly small moths, and as such, they have been traditionally associated with the paraphyletic Microlepidoptera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyraustinae</span> Subfamily of moths

Pyraustinae is a large subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. It currently includes about 1,280 species Most of them tropical but some found in temperate regions including both North America and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evergestinae</span> Subfamily of moths

Evergestinae is a fairly small subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. The subfamily was described by H. Marion in 1952. It contains roughly 140 species on all continents and continental islands. Evergestine moths resemble Pyraustinae; however, the male genitalia have a long uncus and long, slender gnathos. The larvae feed mostly on Brassicaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spilomelinae</span> Subfamily of moths

Spilomelinae is a very species-rich subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. With 4,135 described species in 344 genera worldwide, it is the most speciose group among pyraloids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crambinae</span> Subfamily of moths

Crambinae is a large subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. It currently includes over 1,800 species worldwide. The larvae are root feeders or stem borers, mostly on grasses. A few species are pests of sod grasses, maize, sugar cane, rice, and other Poaceae. The monophyly of this group is supported by the structure of the tympanal organs and the phallus attached medially to the juxta, as well as genetic analyses.

Almonia is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae.

<i>Conogethes</i> Genus of moths

Conogethes is a genus of moths in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae. The currently 17 recognized species are distributed in the Indomalayan and Australasian realm.

<i>Lineodes</i> Genus of moth

Lineodes is a genus of snout moths of the subfamily Spilomelinae in the family Crambidae. The genus was described by Achille Guenée in 1854, with Lineodes hieroglyphalis as the type species.

<i>Udea</i> Genus of moths

Udea is a genus of snout moths in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae. The genus was erected by Achille Guenée in 1845. The currently known 215 species are present on all continents except Antarctica. About 41 species are native to Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acentropinae</span> Subfamily of moths

Acentropinae is a fairly small subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. Species of this subfamily are exclusively found in wetlands and aquatic habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glaphyriinae</span> Subfamily of moths

Glaphyriinae is a subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae. It was described by William Trowbridge Merrifield Forbes in 1923. The subfamily currently comprises 509 species in 75 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydririni</span> Tribe of moths

Hydririni is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lineodini</span> Tribe of moths

Lineodini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the snout moth family Crambidae.

Agroterini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae. The tribe was erected by Alexandre Noël Charles Acloque in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaroniini</span> Tribe of moths

Margaroniini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae. The tribe was erected by Charles Swinhoe and Everard Charles Cotes in 1889, originally as family Margaronidae.

Asciodini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae. The tribe was erected by Richard Mally, James E. Hayden, Christoph Neinhuis, Bjarte H. Jordal and Matthias Nuss in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steniini</span> Tribe of moths

Steniini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae. The tribe was erected by Achille Guenée in 1854.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nomophilini</span> Tribe of moths

Nomophilini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae. The tribe was erected by Vladimir Ivanovitsch Kuznetzov and Alexandr A. Stekolnikov in 1979.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Léger, Théo; Mally, Richard; Neinhuis, Christoph; Nuss, Matthias (2020). "Refining the phylogeny of Crambidae with complete sampling of subfamilies (Lepidoptera, Pyraloidea)". Zoologica Scripta. 50 (1): 84–99. doi: 10.1111/zsc.12452 .
  2. 1 2 3 Regier, J. C., C. Mitter, M. A. Solis, J. E. Hayden, B. Landry, M. Nuss, T. J. Simonsen, S.-H. Yen , A. Zwick & M. P. Cummings 2012: A molecular phylogeny for the pyraloid moths (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea) and its implications for higher-level classification. Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine – Systematic Entomology, London 37 (4): 635–656.
  3. ↑ Minet, J. 2015: Lathrotelidae Clarke, 1971: a rehabilitated name deserving subfamily rank (Lepidoptera, Crambidae). – Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, Paris 120 (1): 109–112.
  4. ↑ McLeod, Robin (April 24, 2016). "Species Niphograpta albiguttalis - Water Hyacinth Moth - Hodges#5149". BugGuide. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ McLeod, Robin (February 1, 2019). "Species Acentria ephemerella - Water Veneer - Hodges#5299". BugGuide. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2020.

Further reading

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