Pyraloidea
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| roughly 16,000 species |
The Pyraloidea comprise about 16,000 described species worldwide (Munroe & Solis 1998), and probably at least as many more remain to be described. 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 (Wurthiinae spp.), predate upon scale insects (certain Phycitinae spp.), or live in the nests of bees (Galleriinae spp.). 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. With such a variety of living habits, pyraloids are an ideal group for biodiversity studies (Schulze & Fiedler 2003). Some species are of economic importance, e.g. rice stem borers (Chilo spp., Scirpophaga spp.), sod grass webworms (different species of Crambinae), Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella), European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis), Indo-Australian coconut spike moth (Tirathaba rufivena), Cacao moth (Ephestia elutella), Mediterranean flour moth (Ephestia kuehniella), wax moths (Achroia grisella, Galleria mellonella), and rice moth (Corcyra cephalonica).
Currently, 22 subfamilies are treated within the Pyraloidea:
The Chrysauginae comprise about 400 species occurring predominantly in the Neotropical region. Larvae can be seed, fruit, stem and root borers, and leaf rollers and tiers. Some are myrmecophilous. The adults of Cryptoses, Bradypodicola and Bradypophila live in the fur of sloths and their larvae develop in sloth dung. Larvae of other species have been found feeding on wasp nests and on spines of Automeris spp. (Saturniidae) caterpillars. Most larvae have a sclerotised ring around SD1 of the metathorax.
The Epipaschiinae comprise described 572 species in the tropical and temperate regions, except Europe. Larvae are leaf rollers, leaf tiers or leaf miners. A few species are minor pests of mahagonies, avocado, and corn (Zea mays). Males of many species have a conspicuous scaled projection from the scape of the antennae. Epipaschiinae are supported as a monophyletic group by three characters of the males: (1) an always upturned and pointed third segment of the labial palpi, (2) a ventrally curved phallobase of the male which usually extends beyond the ductus ejaculatorius, and (3) the weakly sclerotised tegumen.
The Galleriinae comprise about 300 species worldwide. Larvae of some species, such as Corcyra cephalonica (rice moth) feed on dry vegetable matter, while the larvae of other species are known to live in hymenopteran nests feeding on combs and animal debris (e.g. Galleria mellonella, the wax moth). Sound production by the tegulae of adult males has been studied for purposes of monitoring and control of pest species. The males of galleriine moths have no gnathos, the pupae have a prominent median ridge on the thorax and abdomen dorsally, and most larvae have a sclerotised ring around SD1 of A1.
The Phycitinae (= Anerastiinae, Peoriinae) are probably the most difficult group of Pyraloidea in terms of identification and classification. They comprise more than 600 genera and about 4000 species. Phycitines occur throughout the world. Their larvae are mostly leaf rollers, but some are inquilines in galls, seed feeders, or predators of Homoptera. There is strong evidence that the Phycitinae are monophyletic: (1) The larva has a sclerotised area encircling the base of seta SD1 on the mesothorax, and (2) the female frenulum is composed of multiple acanthae into one bristle as in males.
The Pyralinae (= Endotrichinae, Hypotiinae) comprise more than 900 species worldwide, but most species occur in Asia and Africa. The meal moth (Pyralis farinalis) is a cosmopolitan pest of stored food products. Other species are leaf feeders and the larvae of Pyralis manihotalis has been reared from bat guano. With the exception of Cardamyla and Embryoglossa, all pyraline females have a short ductus bursae with the corpus bursae barely extending cephalad beyond segment 7.
The Acentropinae (= Nymphulinae) comprise more than 700 species worldwide. The early stages are almost always aquatic. Acentropinae are supported as monophyletic by the presence of enlarged, chimney-like stigmata on abdominal segments 2 to 4 of the pupa.
The Cathariinae comprise only one genus with Catharia pyrenaealis from the Pyrenees and C. simplonialis from the European Alps. Both species fly at high altitudes. However, their classification is uncertain. Some entomologists support the hypothesis that both populations are conspecific, and that Cathariinae is subordinate to Odontiinae. All characters supporting the Cathariinae are reductions: the chaetosemata, male gnathos, and female tympanal organs are reduced.
The Crambinae comprise 1877 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 the group is supported by the structure of the tympanal organs and the phallus attached medially to the juxta
The Cybalomiinae comprise about 55 species in dry regions of southern Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, western North America, central and South America, and the Antilles. So far as known, the larvae of most species feed on Cruciferae and Capparidaceae. The chaetosemata are absent. In males, the forewings have a fovea between R3+4 und R5 and the gnathos is distally strongly sclerotised, spatulate or triangular.
The Evergestinae comprise 137 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.
The Glaphyriinae (= Alatuncusiinae, Dichogaminae) comprise about 200 species mainly in the New World, except Hellula undalis that is described from Italy, and is a pest of crucifers in the Old World and Hawaii. The male genitalia have an uncus, but the gnathos is much reduced or absent. The larvae feed as leaf folders on Cruciferae or Capparidaceae, miners in Opuntia stems and heads of Typha spp., case bearers on lichens, parasites on psychid caterpillars, and inquilines in nests of vespid wasps.
The Heliothelinae are a small group with only 48 described species in the Old World. They are characterized by an inwardly directed spine in the female corpus bursae. There are two main groups in Heliothelinae. The Heliothelini are adapted to hot and dry environments; the moths are day flyers and have a noctuoid appearance. The Hoploscopini occur in lower altitudes of tropical mountain rain forests in the Oriental region and Queensland; the adults are nocturnal.
The Linostinae comprise only one genus with three species and occur from southern Mexico to Bolivia and southern Brazil. The life history of the early stages is unknown. Linostine moths have broad, white wings with fine black markings. The maxillary palpi, proboscis, ocelli, and chaetosemata are absent.
The Midilinae comprise 47 species ranging from Mexico to northern Argentinia, but they are absent from the West Indies. Known larvae are borers in Araceae. The moths have an un-pyraloid-like appearance with broad wings and a robust body. They are often confused with Geometridae, Noctuidae, or even Saturniidae. The wings of many species have hyaline discal spots and angulate or sinuate terminal margins.
Musotiminae comprise 166 species in the tropics, New Zealand, Micronesia and Samoa. Many of the known larvae feed on ferns and are white, delicate moths with dark black or orange markings. Musotimines can be distinguished by the following combination of characters, but they are not unique to the musotimines: spinula present, ductus seminalis originating beyond the middle of the ductus bursae, labial palpus upturned, and chaetosemata present.
The Noordinae comprise one genus with six species in the Near East, the Indian subregion, and some islands of the Indian Ocean, including Madagascar and Australia, where one species might be introduced. The larvae live in the buds of Moringa (Moringaceae). The moths are small but robust. Their tympanal organs are partly imbedded in the thorax. The male valvae are broadly rounded (resembling those of Odontiinae) and segment VIII bears complex sclerotizations with androconiae.
The Odontiinae comprise 367 species for which more than 100 generic names have been introduced in the scientific literature. Species of this subfamily are present on all continents and continental islands, except New Zealand. The group is most numerous and diverse in eremic habitats where the moths are often diurnal. The larvae of Odontiini are generally leaf miners, while those of Eurhypiini are leaf folders, flower and bud feeders, and fruit and stem borers. Odontiine larvae use a wide range of host plants, but mostly Dicotyledonae. Male odontiines have a semi-membraneous uncus which is broad and distally bilobed, and the valva is more or less broadly rounded at the apex.
The Pyraustinae originally included the Spilomelinae (see below), which, however, comprise the larger number of species of the two groups. It has not been fully established yet which taxa of the Pyraustinae s.l. belong to Pyraustinae s. str. or Spilomelinae, but 1413 species have been verified to belong to the Pyraustinae s. str. The Pyraustinae are characterised by atrophied spinula and venulae in the tympanal organs; a narrow fornix tympani; a longitudinal groove with androconial scales on the male mesothoracic tibiae; an often spinose antrum; and a sella (a medially directed clasper on the inside of the valvae), and an editum with modified setae on the male valvae.
The Schoenobiinae comprise 169 species in the temperate and tropical zones of both hemispheres. The larvae bore in marsh-living Poaceae. Species of Scirpophaga in the Old World and Rupela in the New World are important pests of rice. Sternite VIII of the males in all but four primitive genera have a rounded membraneous area, covered by a posteriorly directed brush of stiff scales arising from the posterior margin of sternite VII, associated with a platelike, scale bearing coremata flanking the vinculum.
The Scopariinae comprise more than 530 described species in the temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres, on oceanic islands and in mountain rain forests of the tropics. Uniquely in the Pyraloidea, the larvae are known to feed on mosses, but there are also feeding records from lycopodes, lichens, and seed-plants. Scopariine moths are best characterized by their wing pattern elements with the typical "X"-like distal discoidal stigma and a dentation of the postmedian line towards this stigma.
Spilomelinae With 3767 species worldwide this is the most speciose group among pyraloids. The moths are characterized by the absence of chaetosemata, a bilobed praecinctorium, projecting fornix tympani, pointed spinula, absence of a gnathos, and the female genitalia have no rhomboidal signum on the bursa copulatrix. The Spilomelinae are believed to be polyphyletic.
The Wurthiinae comprise one genus with seven described species in the Oriental region. Larvae and pupae live in silken cases within nests of Oecophylla and Polyrhachis ants. The moths are small and robust, with white or light-coloured wings and bombycoid or eucleoid facies. The maxillary palpi, proboscis, and ocelli are absent.
[edit] Sources
Munroe, E. G. & M. A. Solis 1998: The Pyraloidea. Pp. 233–256. – In: Kristensen, N. P., Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, systematics, and biogeography. - In: M. Fischer (ed.), Handbook of Zoology. Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta, Part 35. – Walter de Gruyter, Berlin.
Schulze, C. H. & K. Fiedler 2003: Vertical and temporal diversity of a species rich moth taxon in Borneo. Pp. 69–88. – In: Basset, Y., V. Novotny, S. E. Miller & R. L. Kitching, Arthropods of tropical forests. Spatio-temporal resource use in the canopy. – Cambridge University Press.
Links: Global Information System on Pyraloidea [www.pyraloidea.org]fr:Pyraloidea
