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Species
Gelechiidae
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Gelechiidae (Gelechiid sp. B) is prey of:
Goniozus
Chelonus
Agathis
Based on studies in:
USA: California, Southern California (Galls, Plant substrate)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- B. A. Hawkins and R. D. Goeden, 1984. Organization of a parasitoid community associated with a complex of galls on Atriplex spp. in southern California. Ecol. Entomol. 9:271-292, from p. 274.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:33290
Specimens with Sequences:30151
Specimens with Barcodes:29084
Species:2605
Species With Barcodes:2159
Public Records:7198
Public Species:1035
Public BINs:1240
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The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the Gelechiidae's relationships with and delimitation against their relatives have been subject to considerable dispute. These are generally very small moths with narrow, fringed wings. The larvae of most species feed internally on various parts of their host plants, sometimes causing galls. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) is a host plant common to many species of the family, particularly of the genus Chionodes which is consequently more diverse in North America than usual for Gelechioidea.[1]
By the late 20th century, over 900[2] genera with altogether more than 4,500 species were placed here, with about 650 known from North America alone. While these figures are certainly outdated due to the many of reevaluations of Gelechioidea and new descriptions of twirler moths, they still serve to give an impression of the enormous biodiversity contained in this important family.
Being abundant, fecund plant-eaters, many species are agricultural pests, including:
- Anacampsis sarcitella – pack moth
- Anarsia lineatella – peach twig borer
- Aproaerema modicella – groundnut leafminer
- Keiferia lycopersicella – tomato pinworm
- Pectinophora gossypiella – pink bollworm
- Phthorimaea operculella – potato tuber moth, tobacco splitworm
- Sitotroga cerealella – angoumois grain moth
- Tecia solanivora (Povolny, 1973) – Guatemalan potato moth, Central American potato tuber moth
- Tuta absoluta – tomato leafminer, South American tomato moth
The voracious habits of their larvae make twirler moths suitable for biological control of invasive plants. The spotted knapweed seedhead moth (Metzneria paucipunctella), for example, is used to control spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) in North America. Even more subtle plant-host interactions have been discovered in these moths. The Guatemalan potato moth may become a harmful pest. If it is not entirely eradicated from a potato field, but allowed to infest some plants (up to around 20% in one study[3]), the overall harvest will increase, and include an increased number of extremely large tubers.
Taxonomy and systematics[edit]
Compared to the other massively diverse Gelechioidea families – Coleophoridae (case-bearers) and Oecophoridae (concealer moths) – the systematics of the Gelechiidae are far less contentious. The "Deoclonidae", sometimes treated as a full gelechioid family, seem to be nothing other than a specialized offshoot from within the Gelechiidae, and are here included in the present family; some authors differ, however, and ally at least some of these genera with the Autostichinae and/or Symmocidae. On the other hand, the Schistonoeidae (scavenger moths) are preliminarily considered a distinct family here.[4][5][6][7][8]
Of the subfamilies traditionally accepted for the Gelechiidae, only three are maintained here pending further information; at least one other, the Physoptilinae, may also be valid. But numerous genera of twirler moths – including most of the former "Deoclonidae" and for the time being also the proposed Physoptilinae – are of undetermined affiliation at present. The subfamilies, along with some notable genera, are:[6][7]
Subfamily Dichomeridinae (tentatively including Chelariinae, which might belong in Gelechiinae or Pexicopiinae)
Subfamily Gelechiinae (including Anacampsinae, Anomologinae, Apatetrinae)
- Anacampsis
- Anomologa
- Apatetris
- Bryotropha
- Chionodes
- Ephysteris
- Gelechia
- Metzneria
- Phthorimaea
- Pityocona
- Pubitelphusa
Subfamily Pexicopiinae
- Chelophoba
- Ethmiopsis
- Palumbina
- Pectinophora
- Pexicopia – Hollyhock Seed Moth
- Sitotroga
Genera incertae sedis (including Brachmiinae, Physoptilinae)
- Brachmia (Dichomeridinae?)
- Deoclona (not Gelechiidae?)
- Physoptila
- Syringopais (not Gelechiidae?)
References[edit]
- ^ Donald J. Borror, Charles A. Triplehorn & Norman F. Johnson (1989). An Introduction to the Study of Insects (6th ed.). Fort Worth, Texas: Saunders College. p. 800. ISBN 0-03-025397-7.
- ^ The Natural History Museum of London website offers details on 911 genera belonging to the Gelechiidae family. The list of these is accessible here
- ^ "Mottenspucke verbessert Ernte" [Moth spit improves yield]. Eigenarten der Natur (in German) (N-TV). June 3, 2010.
- ^ R. W. Hodges (1999). "The Gelechioidea". In N. P. Kristensen. IV – Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 35: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies 1. Handbuch der Zoologie. Berlin & New York: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 131–158. ISBN 3-11-015704-7.
- ^ Christopher O'Toole, ed. (2002). Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders. ISBN 1-55297-612-2.
- ^ a b Australian Biological Resources Study (October 9, 2008). "Gelechiidae". Australian Faunal Directory. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ a b "Gelechiidae". Fauna Europaea. December 22, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "Gelechiidae". Tree of Life Web Project. May 1, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gelechiidae&oldid=640208722 |
Diversity description:
link to webpages on Gelechiidae, authored by Dr. SangMi Lee, as part of National Science Foundation Grant No. DEB 416078.
Gelechiidae (Gelechiid sp. B) preys on:
Atriplex canescens
Atriplex polycarpa
Based on studies in:
USA: California, Southern California (Galls, Plant substrate)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- B. A. Hawkins and R. D. Goeden, 1984. Organization of a parasitoid community associated with a complex of galls on Atriplex spp. in southern California. Ecol. Entomol. 9:271-292, from p. 274.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |