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.
The Tineodidae or false plume moths are a family of moths with in some cases unusually modified wings: Like in some related moths, the wings of several Tineodidae are decomposed into several rigid spines. This is a small family, with about a global total of 20 species described to date; some undescribed species are known or suspected to exist however. They seem to be of Australian origin, where they are most diverse, but range through the Wallacea to Southeast and South Asia, and into the Pacific to the Marquesas Islands.
Phereoeca uterella, known by the vernacular names plaster bagworm and household casebearer, is a moth species in family Tineidae. It occurs in tropical climates, where it is common in houses, and is presumed native to the Neotropical realm. In the Americas, it has been recorded from Brazil, Guyana, and the southern United States as well as the Virgin Islands and Trinidad, and tentatively identified from Tobago.
Bacotoma is a genus of moths in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae. It currently comprises 11 species, with an Oriental and Australasian distribution ranging from India and Sri Lanka over China and Southeast Asia to Australia.
Chrysophyllis is a genus of the grass moth family (Crambidae). It is monotypic, containing the single species Chrysophyllis lucivaga. This moth is very little known, having only been recorded once, before 1935. It belongs to the large grass moth subfamily Spilomelinae; at the time of its description, these were still included in subfamily Pyraustinae and the entire Crambidae was then merged with the snout moths. While its exact relationships are undetermined, it is believed to be a close relative of Talanga. Like these, the male genitalia of C. lucivaga feature a remarkably elongated aedeagus shaped like a bullwhip.
Marasmianympha is a genus of moths of the grass moth family (Crambidae) described by Eugene G. Munroe in 1991. Its single species, Marasmianympha eupselias, was described by Edward Meyrick in 1929. Among the grass moths, it belongs to subfamily Spilomelinae. It is endemic to the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia, where it has been recorded on Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa and Tahuata, but is suspected to occur on other islands as well. The holotype specimen is in the Natural History Museum, London.
Tessema sensilis is a little-known moth species, the only member of genus Tessema. It belongs to the grass moth family (Crambidae), and therein to the large subfamily Spilomelinae; at the time of its description, these were still included in subfamily Pyraustinae and the entire Crambidae was then merged with the snout moths. While its detailed relationships are undetermined, it may be a close relative of Herpetogramma and/or Pilocrocis.
Clarkeophlebia is an enigmatic and almost-unknown gelechioid moth genus. It contains a single species, Clarkeophlebia argentea, and is apparently endemic to Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia. It was originally described as Acanthophlebia, but this name had earlier been given to a genus of prong-gilled mayflies.
Wyoma is a small genus of the fungus moth family, Tineidae. Therein, it belongs to the subfamily Tineinae. It is probably fairly closely related to the type genus of its family and subfamily, Tinea, and can be most easily separated by the wing venation – in Tinea, two veins in each wing arise from a common stalk, whereas none do in Wyoma.
Catalectis is a small genus of the fungus moth family, Tineidae. It is a small and little-studied group, whose precise relationships remain to be discovered. C. pharetropa was once mistaken for a species of Clepticodes, and Oenoe drosoptila of the Meessiinae was also proposed as a species of Catalectis; ít may be that these are all, in fact, closely related.
Trissodoris honorariella, the pandanus leaf perforator or pandanus hole-cutter moth, is a small cosmet moth species. It belongs to subfamily Cosmopteriginae and is the type species of the genus Trissodoris. Baron Thomas Walsingham in 1907 had specimens from both ends of the species' range – New Guinea and Pitcairn Island – which he described as separate species Stagmatophora honorariella and S. quadrifasciata in the same work. But his mistake was soon recognized, and when Edward Meyrick established the genus Trissodoris in 1914, he chose the former name to be valid.
Anatrachyntis incertulella, the pandanus flower moth, is a small cosmet moth species. It belongs to subfamily Cosmopteriginae. This was the first "micromoth" species to be described from Hawaiʻi. The type specimens were collected there by the 1820s Beechey expedition and described by the English entomologist Francis Walker in 1864; they are now in the British Museum of Natural History.
Praeacedes is a monotypic moth genus in the family Tineidae first described by Hans Georg Amsel in 1954. Its only species, Praeacedes atomosella, was first described by Francis Walker in 1863. It has a wide range and has been recorded from Europe, Australia, Hawaii, India, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Easter Island, Mauritius, Madagascar, Réunion, South America and North America. The species has commonly been misidentified in various parts of the world.
Erechthias flavistriata, the sugarcane bud moth, is a moth of the family Tineidae. It was described by Lord Walsingham in 1907 from Hawaii, but is probably an introduced species. It is found in large parts of the Pacific Rim including the Marquesas, Rapa Iti, Fiji, the New Hebrides, the Kermadec Islands, the Solomons, Java and Malaya. It has been spread widely by man and probably has travelled to many islands throughout much of the Pacific in the canoes of the native peoples.
Erechthias simulans is a species of fungus moth. It is here considered to belong to the somewhat controversial type genus of its subfamily Erechthiinae, though even fairly recently some authors have proposed to retain other genera such as Decadarchis separate from Erechthias. Decadarchis, with E. simulans as type species, would in fact contain this moth and its closest relatives, regardless whether it is recognized as full genus or as subgenus. These relatives are generally held to be a group of mainly Polynesian species. E. simulans has also been mistaken for a species of the closely related genus Comodica; while the delimitation of this versus Erechthias/Decadarchis is not universally agreed upon, E. simulans is not included in Comodica anymore by modern authors.
Erechthias zebrina is a fungus moth. Initially, it was mistakenly believed to be an ermine moth of genus Argyresthia.
Opogona aurisquamosa is a moth of the family Tineidae. It has been recorded from the Pacific, including Easter Island, the Marquesas, the Society Islands, Fiji, the Kermadec Islands and Hawaii. It may have been dispersed by the Polynesians as well as by Europeans.
Diaphania indica, the cucumber moth or cotton caterpillar, is a widespread but mainly Old World moth species. It belongs to the grass moth family, and therein to the large subfamily Spilomelinae. This moth occurs in many tropical and subtropical regions outside the Americas, though it is native to southern Asia; it is occasionally a significant pest of cucurbits and some other plants.
Epicephala spinula is a moth of the family Gracillariidae, one of the most primitive groups of ditrysian "micromoths". Within its family, it belongs to the subfamily Gracillariinae. Even though it was first scientifically studied in 1929, for many decades the specimens of this moth were mistaken for the related Australian species E. colymbetella, and their distinctness was only realized in 1986. It is found on the Marquesas Islands, where it occurs at least on Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou, and Fatu Hiva, and though little-known it is apparently not uncommon. The holotype specimen, a female, is USNM 100839.
Caloptilia insidia is a moth of the family Gracillariidae, one of the most primitive groups of ditrysian "micromoths". Within its family, it belongs to the subfamily Gracillariinae. It is apparently endemic to Fatu Hiva and Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. It is very similar to C. deltanthes. The species does not seem to be common, and no females appear to have been encountered yet.
