| Pterolonche | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pterolonche inspersa adult | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pterolonchidae |
| Genus: | Pterolonche Zeller, 1847 |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Pterolonche is small genus of small moths of the family Pterolonchidae. [1] [2]
The genus was first circumscribed in 1847 by Philipp Christoph Zeller to include two new species. [1] [2] The type species is Pterolonche albescens. [2]
In 1984 Antonio Vives Moreno described the new species P. gozmaniella from Andalucia, but in 1987 Vives reviewed the family Pterolonchidae in Spain, synonymising P. gozmaniella with P. lutescentella and P. gracilis with P. inspersa, describing a new species, and counting five species in the genus Pterolonche. He subdivided the genus in three subgenera. He did not address the species described by Hans Georg Amsel from respectively Malta and Iraq a few decades earlier. [1]
In 2011 it was classified as one of two genera in the family Pterolonchidae in the superfamily Gelechioidea by van Nieukerken et al.. [3]
In 2014 a cladistics analysis performed by Heikkilä et al.. expanded the family to seven genera. They classified the genus in the subfamily Pterolonchinae. [4]
The following species are known: [1] [2]
The species are all found around the Mediterranean Sea. [2] Spain has at least five species, Portugal has four. [1] As far as is known, P. vallettae appears to be endemic to Malta. [6]
The species are all nocturnal. Both sexes are attracted to artificial lights at night. In Spain the moths have two generations per year, with the first emerging from the end of march to the beginning of June, and a second, much more abundant generation between July and the start of October. They have been encountered from sea level to 1500m in altitude in Spain. [1]
P. inspersa caterpillars feed on Centaurea species, a herbaceous, thistle-like plant. They tunnel into the root crown of their host plant and feed on the root tissue. As they reach the root cortex, they spin a silken tube and feed from within the tube. Mature larvae overwinter in the roots. In spring, a silken tube is made above the soil surface in which pupation takes place. [7]
P. inspersa was released as a biological control agent for knapweed, Centaurea diffusa , in Colorado, Montana, and Oregon in the mid to late 1980s, although there was no known establishment of the species in the United States initially, it has since spread to Idaho and British Columbia. [7] [8]
Gelechioidea is the superfamily of moths that contains the case-bearers, twirler moths, and relatives, also simply called curved-horn moths or gelechioid moths. It is a large and poorly understood '"micromoth" superfamily, constituting one of the basal lineages of the Ditrysia.
The Batrachedridae are a small family of tiny moths. These are small, slender moths which rest with their wings wrapped tightly around their bodies.
Pterolonchidae is a small family of very small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. There are species native to every continent except Australia and Antarctica.
Bryotropha is a genus of the twirler moth family (Gelechiidae). Among these, it is placed in the tribe Anomologini of subfamily Gelechiinae; the tribe was formerly considered a distinct subfamily Anomologinae.
Ephysteris is a genus of the twirler moth family (Gelechiidae). Among these, it is assigned to tribe Gnorimoschemini of the subfamily Gelechiinae. Even though it is a rather diverse and widespread group, most of these small and inconspicuous moths were overlooked by scientists until the early 20th century. Almost 90 species are known today but new ones are still being discovered.
Metzneria is a genus of moths in the family Gelechiidae, described by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1839.
Agriphila is a genus of small moths of the family Crambidae. It was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1825. They are common across temperate Eurasia and in adjacent regions.
Homaledra is a small genus of at least four species small moth of the family Pterolonchidae native to North and South America.
Kessleria is a genus of moths of the family Yponomeutidae.
Depressaria is a genus of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. It is the type genus of subfamily Depressariinae, which is often – particularly in older treatments – considered a distinct family Depressariidae or included in the Elachistidae, but actually seems to belong in the Oecophoridae.
Borkhausenia is a genus of the concealer moth family (Oecophoridae) described by Jacob Hübner in 1825. Among these, it belongs to subfamily Oecophorinae, wherein it is probably closely related to Hofmannophila. In the past, several other Oecophoridae have been included in Borkhausenia, as well as a few even more distant members of the superfamily Gelechioidea. Metalampra was originally described as a subgenus of Borkhausenia. Telechrysis has also been included here as a subgenus by some, while other authors have considered it a separate genus in the Oecophorinae or – if these are also considered distinct – the Amphisbatinae.
Pterolonche inspersa, sometimes called the brown-winged knapweed root moth, is a small moth of the family Pterolonchidae.
Agonopterix is a moth genus of the superfamily Gelechioidea. It is placed in the family Depressariidae, which was often – particularly in older treatments – considered a subfamily of the Oecophoridae or included in the Elachistidae.
Coelopoeta is a relatively divergent genus of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea, which have only been found in western North America.
Coelopoeta glutinosi is a tiny species of moth in the superfamily Gelechioidea. It is found in California in the United States.
Euchromius anapiellus is a species of moth in the family Crambidae described by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1847. It is found in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, on Sardinia and Sicily, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria. It has also been recorded from Turkey.
Syringopais temperatella, the cereal leaf miner or wheat leaf miner, is a very small sized moth of the family Pterolonchidae. It is found on Cyprus and in Greece and the Near East. It is an important pest in cereal grain fields in some areas.
Megacraspedus lativalvellus is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Hans Georg Amsel in 1954. It is found on Malta.
Epimarptidae was a former, or is a possible, monotypic family of moths in the moth superfamily Gelechioidea. It can now be seen as either a synonym of family Batrachedridae, or a monotypic subfamily of that family.