Rottenwood moths

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Rottenwood moths
Paste moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)

Paste moth ( Endrosis sarcitrella )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Subordination : Glossata
Superfamily : Gelechioidea
Family : Rottenwood moths
Scientific name
Oecophoridae
Bruand , 1851
Epicallima formosella : easily recognizable the upwardly curved labial palps

The rotterwood moths (Oecophoridae) are a family of butterflies . They occur worldwide with approx. 3,150 species , but their main distribution area is Australia .

features

The moths reach a wingspan of 9 to 27 millimeters and have slender, elongated bodies. The forewings are narrow and are two to three times as long as they are wide. In some species they are colored with a metallic shimmer or have such a pattern. The hind wings are about the same width as the fore wings and are partly provided with long fringes. The filamentous antennae in both sexes are medium to long and reach 0.6 to 1.5 times the length of the forewings. A few species have point eyes ( Ocelli ) in addition to compound eyes . In many of the species of the Oecophorinae , their labial palps are long, curved upwards in a sickle shape. The scaly at the base of proboscis is fully developed, in part, some completely missing.

The forewings have 13 wing veins with two anal veins (1b and 1c). The hind wings have 9 or 10 veins with two or three anal veins (1a, 1b and 1c, or 1b greatly reduced)

Way of life

The moths are active at night or at dawn.

The caterpillars have, in addition to the three pairs of breast bones, four pairs of belly bones and the pusher . They live and nourish themselves hidden between spun leaves, in rotten wood and vegetable waste, animal matter or on fruits and seeds. Only a few species live as miners . The species occurring in Australia prefer to eat the myrtle family (Myrtaceae). The species that feed on wood and plant remains play an important role in the utilization of biomass . But there are also predatory species. For example, a species of lacquer scale insects found in India feed on . The caterpillars can become uncomfortable for humans, because if there is enough moisture they can cause damage to grain or wool, carpets and textiles through their webs and the food they eat. This applies e.g. B. for the worldwide common paste moth ( Endrosis sarcitrella ).

The caterpillars of the rottenwood moths have also been deliberately introduced into other climatic zones in order to be able to master plants imported by humans. In New Zealand a kind of was Hawaii against introduced from Europe gorse ( Ulex europaeus reintroduced) and in the United States is with Agonopterix alstroemeriana against the spotted hemlock ( Conium maculatum ) procedure.

Systematics

The rottenwood moth family is represented in Europe with two subfamilies and 139 species and subspecies, of which 57 species occur in Central Europe .

Family Oecophoridae

Subfamily Deuterogoniinae

Subfamily Oecophorinae

Tribe Carcinini
Tribe Crossotocerini
Tribus Oecophorini
Tribe Pleurotini

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ NP Kristensen: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies, 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie 4 (35) p. 405, Walter de Gruyter. Berlin, New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-015704-7
  2. ^ NP Kristensen: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies, 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie 4 (35) p. 141f, Walter de Gruyter. Berlin, New York 2003, ISBN 3-11-015704-7
  3. ↑ Oecophoridae in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved June 25, 2008
  4. ↑ Oecophoridae. Lepiforum e. V., accessed on January 31, 2007 .

Web links

Commons : Rottenwood Moths  - Collection of images, videos and audio files