CRAMBIDAECrambidae contain 10,487 species classified into 1,021 genera. The classification proposed here is based on the most recent molecular studies on the phylogeny of the group (Léger et al., 2019, Léger et al. 2021). |
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The Acentropinae (= Nymphulinae) comprise about 799 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 Crambinae comprise 2.087 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 Erupinae are small Neotropical noctuid-like moths classified in three genera with altogether 38 species. The labial palpi are long and porrect, the maxillary palpi are large, and chaetosemata are present. The forewings have straight ante- and postmedial lines and a small, circular brown discal spot, or a narrow line continuous with the antemedial line instead of the discal spot. The Glaphyriinae (= Cathariinae, Cybalomiinae, Evergestinae, Noordinae) comprise 537 species. The male genitalia have a well-developed, long, slender uncus, and the gnathos is variable from reduced or absent to well-developed. Caterpillars mostly feed on Brassicales, a rare feeding habit among Lepidoptera. Some are borers in Opuntia stem, on heads of Typha spp., or feed from flattened cases on lichens, whereas others are predators on eggs and larvae of bagworms (Psychidae) or commensals in nests of Vespidae wasps. The Heliothelinae are a small group with only 29 described species in the Old World. They are characterized by an inwardly directed spine in the female corpus bursae. The diurnal imagines with a noctuid appearance are adapted to hot and dry environments. The Hoploscopinae comprise 46 species in two genera. They are found in lower altitude mountain forests of Austral-Asia. In male genitalia, the uncus and gnathos are well-developed, and the corpus bursae of the female genitalia bears a thorn. The larvae feed on ferns, the imagines are nocturnal. The Lathrotelinae currently comprise 45 species in five genera. They are predominantly distributed in the tropical regions of the world, with most species described from Australasia. Larval stages feed on the roots of monocotyledonous plants like palms and grasses. The small adults are rather inconspicuous with mostly a grey and brownish wing colouration and two or three diagnostic small round spots along the forewing costa. The phallus has a medially inserting ductus ejaculatorius, and its posterior end bears a field of spines forming a manica. The female genitalia feature a long, telescoping ovipositor bearing fused, narrowly pointed papillae anales. The Linostinae comprise one genus with four 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 59 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. The Musotiminae comprise 208 species in the tropics, New Zealand, Micronesia and Samoa. The adults are small, delicate, broad-winged moths with long legs, sometimes with a somewhat Acentropinae-like resting position and cataclystiform wing pattern. Larvae are external feeders, leaf miners or stem borers on ferns. Musotimines can be distinguished by the following combination of characters, which are however not unique to group: labial palpus upturned, chaetosemata present, spinula present, ductus seminalis originating beyond the middle of the ductus bursae. The Odontiinae comprise 388 species in 87 genera. 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). It has not been finally established yet which taxa of the Pyraustinae s.l. belong to Pyraustinae s. str. or to Spilomelinae, but 1,283 species in 170 genera are currently considered to belong to the Pyraustinae s. str. The subfamily is characterised by the fornix tympani being recessed within the tympanic frame, as opposed to their sister group, the Spilomelinae, where the fornix typani is projecting ventrad. The male genitalia have a conical uncus, a tegumen with a distinct sclerotisation pattern, and a sclerotised process (sella) on the valvae carrying strongly sclerotised hairs (editum). The female genitalia usually exhibit an appendix bursae, a long and coiled ductus bursae, and a commonly rhombical and broad signum. Larvae feed on a variety of dicotyledonous plants; Euclastini are confined to Apocynaceae, and Portentomorphini primarily feed on Phyllanthaceae. The Schoenobiinae comprise 241 species in the temperate and tropical zones of both hemispheres. The larvae bore in wet-habitiat Poaceae and Cyperaceae and can be readily recognised by a membranous sac anterior to the prothoracic coxae on the midline. 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 platelike, scale-bearing coremata flanking the vinculum. The Scopariinae comprise 588 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. The Spilomelinae (= Wurthiinae) are the most speciose group among pyraloids, with 4,135 species worldwide. The morphologically diverse spilomelines were found to be monphyletic. Ventrad projecting fornix tympani distinguish them from their sister group, the Pyraustinae, and some of the 13 spilomeline tribes retain symplesiomorphic characters with Pyraustinae.
References for the cited literature can be obtained via -> database -> search. Last updated: April 10, 2023 |