Everything about Choreutidae totally explained
Choreutidae, or "metalmark moths," are a
family of
insects in the
lepidopteran
order whose relationships have been long disputed. It was placed previously in the
superfamily Yponomeutoidea in family Glyphipterigidae and in superfamily
Sesioidea. It is now considered to represent its own superfamily (Minet, 1986). The relationship of the family to the other lineages in the group "Apoditrysia"
(External Link
) need a new assessment, especially with new molecular data.
Distribution
The moths occur worldwide, with 19 genera in three
subfamilies defined by the structural characteristics of the immature stages (larvae and pupae), rather than the characters of the adults (Heppner and Duckworth, 1981; Rota, 2005).
Behaviour
These small moths often bear metallic
scales(External Link) and are mostly day-flying (some also come to lights), with a jerky, pivoting behaviour, and may fluff up their wings at an extreme angle. Some tropical exemplars such as the genus
Saptha are quite spectacular, with bright green metallic bands
(External Link). The members of the genus
Brenthia, usually placed in their own
subfamily Brenthiinae, have
eyespots on the wings and have been shown to mimic jumping spiders (Rota and Wagner, 2006).
Larval hostplants
Most species skeletonize leaves often among silken webbing
(External Link) whereas the western
Palaearctic Millieria are
leaf miners on the plant
genus Aristolochia. Other Millieriinae (a subfamily defined mainly on
larval characters) feed on palms (the genus
Phormoestes on
Sabal), whilst that of the
Chilean genus
Nyx is unknown. The foodplants of many
Choreutinae occurring in the
temperate region and some tropical species are known
(External Link), being dominated by
Asteraceae,
Betulaceae,
Boraginaceae,
Dipterocarpaceae,
Fabaceae,
Labiatae,
Moraceae (mainly
Ficus),
Rosaceae,
Sapindaceae and
Urticaceae. The European "Nettle-tap Moth"
Anthophila fabriciana (Linnaeus, 1767), illustrated here
(External Link) is a familiar sight pirouetting around "stinging nettles"
Urtica and nearby flowers while
Choreutis pariana(External Link) skeletonizes apple leaves. The last genus has 85 species worldwide one of which
C.tigroides is a pest of "jackfruit"
Artocarpus (Dugdale et al., 1999).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Choreutidae'.
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