Gracillariidae
| Gracillariidae | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Privet leaf miner, Gracillaria syringella (Fabricius, 1794) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Gracillarioidea |
| Family: |
Gracillariidae Stainton, 1854 |
| Subfamilies | |
Genera - see "Subfamilies and genera" |
|
| Diversity | |
| About 101 genera and 1,866 species | |
Genera - see "Subfamilies and genera"
Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella.
There are 98 described genera of Gracillariidae (see below). A complete checklist is available of all currently recognised species (de Prins and de Prins 2005). There are many undescribed species in the tropics but there is also an online catalogue of Afrotropical described species [3]; the South African fauna is quite well known. Although Japanese and Russian authors have recognised additional subfamilies (de Prins and de Prins, 2005), there are three currently recognised subfamilies, Phyllocnistinae of which is likely to be basal. In this subfamily, the primitive genus Prophyllocnistis from Chile feeds on the plant genus Drimys (Winteraceae), and has leaf mines structurally similar in structure to fossils (Davis, 1994) (see "Fossils"). While there have been some recent DNA sequence-based studies of Palaearctic species (Lopez-Vaamonde et al., 2003, 2006), there is need for a satisfactory modern global phylogenetic framework for the subfamilies of Gracillaridae. Some genera are very large, e.g. Acrocercops, Caloptilia, Cameraria, Epicephala and Phyllonorycter.
Gracillariidae occurs in all terrestrial regions of the World except Antarctica.
These generally small (wingspan 5–20 mm) moths are leaf miners as caterpillars, which can provide a useful means of identification, especially if the hostplant is known. The subfamilies differ by the adult moth resting posture (Davis and Robinson, 1999). Most Gracillariinae rest with the front of the body steeply raised; Lithocolletinae and Phyllocnistinae rest with the body parallel to the surface; in Lithocolletinae often with the head lowered.
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Wikipedia