Pterophoridae

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Pterophoridae
Temporal range: Chattian–Present
White plume moth (Pterophorus pentadactyla) Transylvania.jpg
Pterophorus pentadactyla
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Pterophoroidea
Family: Pterophoridae
Zeller, 1841
Type species
Pterophorus pentadactyla
Subfamilies
Diversity
>90 genera
>1,000 species

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".

Contents

Description and ecology

Pupa of Platyptilia tetradactyla (Pterophorinae: Platyptiliini) Platyptilia tetradactyla pupa.jpg
Pupa of Platyptilia tetradactyla (Pterophorinae: Platyptiliini)

The forewings of plume moths usually consist of two curved spars with more or less bedraggled bristles trailing behind. This resembles the closely related Alucitidae (many-plumed moths) at first glance, but the latter have a greater number of symmetrical plumes. The hindwings are similarly constructed, but have three spars. This unorthodox structure does not prevent flight. [1] A few genera have normal lepidopteran wings.

The usual resting posture is with the wings extended laterally and narrowly rolled up. Often they resemble a piece of dried grass, and may pass unnoticed by potential predators even when resting in exposed situations in daylight. Some species have larvae which are stem- or root-borers while others are leaf-browsers.

Economically important pterophorids include the artichoke plume moth (Platyptilia carduidactyla), an artichoke (Cynara cardunculus) pest in California, while the geranium plume moth ( Platyptilia pica ) [2] and the snapdragon plume moth ( Stenoptilodes antirrhina ) can cause damage to the ornamental plants garden geranium ( Pelargonium x hortorum ) and common snapdragon ( Antirrhinum majus ), respectively. Other plume moths have been used as biological control agents against invasive plant species – Lantanophaga pusillidactyla against West Indian lantana ( Lantana camara ), Oidaematophorus beneficus against mistflower ( Ageratina riparia ), Hellinsia balanotes against groundsel bush ( Baccharis halimifolia ), [3] and Wheeleria spilodactylus against horehound ( Marrubium vulgare ). [4]

Evolution

A fossil species from the extant genus Merrifieldia is known from the Oligocene of France. [5] [6]

Taxonomy

The small group of moths in the genus Agdistopis has often been treated as a subfamily Macropiratinae within the Pterophoridae, but recent research indicates that this group should be considered a separate family.

The family is divided into the following subfamilies, tribes and genera, [7] some species are also listed:
Subfamily Agdistinae

Subfamily Ochyroticinae

Subfamily DeuterocopinaeGielis, 1993

Subfamily Pterophorinae Zeller, 1841

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Haynes, K.F. & Birch, M.C. (1984)
  2. ↑ MDA (1980)
  3. ↑ Palmer, W.A. & Haseler, W.H. (1992)
  4. ↑ Baker, J. (2002)
  5. ↑ L. Bigot, A. Nel, and J. Nel. 1986. Description de la première espèce fossile connue de Ptérophore (Lepidoptera Pterophoridae). Alexanor14:283-288
  6. ↑ SOHN, JAE-CHEON; LABANDEIRA, CONRAD; DAVIS, DONALD; MITTER, CHARLES (2012-04-30). "An annotated catalog of fossil and subfossil Lepidoptera (Insecta: Holometabola) of the world". Zootaxa. 3286 (1): 1. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3286.1.1 . ISSN   1175-5334.
  7. ↑ Gielis, Cees (2000-05-31). "Division of the Pterophoridae into Tribes (Lepidoptera)" (PDF). Quadrifina. 3: 57–60 – via ZOBODAT.

Related Research Articles

<i>Platyptilia carduidactyla</i> Species of plume moth

Platyptilia carduidactyla, the artichoke plume moth, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae described by Riley in 1869. It is found in New Zealand and North America, from Mexico north into the United States.

<i>Platyptilia</i> Plume moth genus

Platyptilia is a genus of moths in the family Pterophoridae. The genus was described by Jacob Hübner in 1825.

<i>Hellinsia</i> Plume moth genus

Hellinsia is a genus of moths in the family Pterophoridae. It was created by J.W. Tutt in honour of the entomologist John Hellins.

<i>Hellinsia beneficus</i> Species of plume moth

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.

<i>Cnaemidophorus</i> Plume moth genus

Cnaemidophorus is a genus of plume moths in the family Pterophoridae. It was first described by Hans Daniel Johan Wallengren in 1862.

<i>Stenoptilodes antirrhina</i> Species of plume moth

Stenoptilodes antirrhina, the snapdragon plume moth, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is known from California in the United States, but also from greenhouses in the south-eastern U.S. that have received cuttings of snapdragon from California.

<i>Agdistis adactyla</i> Species of plume moth

Agdistis adactyla is a moth species in the family Pterophoridae, and the type species of genus Agdistis. It is known from most of the Palearctic realm, where it occurs from central and south-western Europe and North Africa to eastern Asia.

Agdistis obstinata is a moth in the family Pterophoridae. It is known from South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Ethiopia.

Agdistis flavissima is a moth in the family Pterophoridae. It is known to occur in China (Xinjiang), Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and European Russia.

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

Pterophorinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Pterophoridae.

References

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