Eudonia
| Eudonia | |
|---|---|
 |
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Eudonia angustea imago Oza dos Ríos, Galicia, Spain |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Division: | Ditrysia |
| (unranked): | Obtectomera |
| Superfamily: | Pyraloidea |
| Family: | Crambidae |
| Subfamily: | Scopariinae |
| Genus: |
Eudonia Billberg, 1820 |
| Type species | |
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Phalaena mercurella Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Diversity | |
| About 250 species | |
| Synonyms | |
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Boiea Zetterstedt, 1839 |
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Boiea Zetterstedt, 1839
Borea (lapsus)
Dipleurina Chapman, 1912
Dipluerina (lapsus)
Epileucia (nomen nudum)
Malageudonia Leraut, 1989
Vietteina Leraut, 1989
Witlesia Chapman, 1912
Wittlesia (lapsus)
Eudonia is a large and widespread genus in the grass moth family (Crambidae), subfamily Scopariinae. There is no common name for the roughly 250 species placed here; new species are still being described regularly. Although the genus was proposed early in the 19th century already, many of these moths were for a long time retained in Scoparia, the type genus of the subfamily and a close relative of Eudonia. A few small genera have been proposed for separation from Eudonia, but given the size of this group this is not particularly convincing; thus, all are retained here pending a comprehensive phylogenetic review.
They are usually greyish-brownish and rather inconspicuous moths, though some are more boldly patterned in blackish, pale and even yellow hues. Like their close relatives, they lack the loop formed by forewing veins 1a/1b, and their labial palps are elongated and project straightly, appearing like a pointed "beak". The genitals are of characteristically simple shape in this genus; while they cannot usually be depended upon to differ significantly between species, they allow to distinguish this genus from similar moths. In the males, the clasper's harpe has few if any unusual features, the aedagus is usually a rather nondescript rod, and the vesica bears a characteristic small disc with grainy surface. In females, the ductus bursae is kinked at the junction of the forward (membranous) and hind () parts, with a particularly heavy sclerotized triangle bearing small teeth half-hidden in the kink.
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Wikipedia