Pyraloidea | |
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European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Clade: | Obtectomera |
Superfamily: | Pyraloidea |
Families | |
Diversity [1] | |
about 2,100 genera, roughly 16,000 described species |
The Pyraloidea (pyraloid moths or snout moths) are a moth superfamily containing about 16,000 described species worldwide, and probably at least as many more remain to be described. [2] They are generally fairly small moths, and as such, they have been traditionally associated with the paraphyletic Microlepidoptera.
This superfamily used to contain the Hyblaeidae, Thyrididae, Alucitidae (plus Tineodidae), Pterophoridae, and Pyralidae. The first four families are now each split off as a distinct superfamily.
Nowadays, Pyralidae are usually split into the Pyralidae sensu stricto and the Crambidae, as both groups have been shown to be monophyletic and a sister group. [3] [4]
Some genera (e.g. Micronix and Tanaobela ) still defy easy classification and have been variously assigned to the Crambidae or the Pyralidae.
Among all Lepidoptera, pyraloids show the most diverse life history adaptations. The larvae of most species feed on living plants either internally or externally as leaf rollers, leaf webbers leaf miners, borers, root feeders, and seed feeders. Some species live parasitically in ant nests (Wurthiini), prey on scale insects (certain Phycitinae), or live in the nests of bees (Galleriinae). The larvae of the Acentropinae are adapted to life under water, and certain Phycitinae and Pyralinae are adapted to very dry environments and their larvae feed on stored food products. Others feed on animal detritus such as carrion and feces.
With such a variety of living habits, pyraloids are used in biodiversity studies. [5] Some species are of economic importance, e.g.:
Crambidae comprises the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, with the nominal subfamily Crambinae 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.
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.
Asciodes is a genus of snout moths in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae. The genus was erected by Achille Guenée in 1854 with Asciodes gordialis as type species.
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.
Hydropionea is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae. The 13 described species are distributed in Central and South America.
Neoleucinodes is a genus of snout moths of the subfamily Spilomelinae in the family Crambidae. The genus was described by Hahn William Capps in 1948 as a Neotropical split-off of the Old World genus Leucinodes.
Terastia is a genus of snout moths in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 with Terastia meticulosalis as type species. The genus is currently placed in the tribe Margaroniini, where it is closely related to the genera Agathodes and Liopasia.
Assara albicostalis is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It has a wide distribution and has been recorded from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Sabah, the Philippines, Taiwan, Sulawesi, Australia, Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, Hawaii and the Marquesas. This is the type species of genus Assara.
The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths. Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and more than 4000 species placed here at present, they unite up more than three-quarters of living snout moth diversity. Together with the closely related Epipaschiinae, they are apparently the most advanced lineage of snout moths.
The Epipaschiinae are a subfamily of snout moths. More than 720 species are known today, which are found mainly in the tropics and subtropics. Some occur in temperate regions, but the subfamily is apparently completely absent from Europe, at least as native species. A few Epipaschiinae are crop pests that may occasionally become economically significant.
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.
Scirpophaga fusciflua is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by George Hampson in 1893. It is found in Taiwan, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Scirpophaga gilviberbis is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1863. It is found on the Comoros and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Scirpophaga imparellus is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Edward Meyrick in 1878. It is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
Scirpophaga xanthogastrella is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1863. It is found in Taiwan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
Sufetula diminutalis is a snout moth in the subfamily Lathrotelinae of the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1866 in the genus Isopteryx from material collected in Honduras.
Lathrotelinae is a subfamily of the pyraloid family Crambidae described by John Frederick Gates Clarke in 1971. It currently comprises 45 species in six genera.
Udeini is a tribe in 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.
Wurthiini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae.
Trichaeini 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.