The Gelechiidae are a family of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily

Gelechioidea __NOTOC__ Gelechioidea (from the type genus ''Gelechia'', "keeping to the ground") is the Taxonomic rank, superfamily of moths that contains the case-bearers, twirler moths, and relatives, also simply called curved-horn moths or gelechioid moths. ...

, and the family's

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

has been subject to considerable dispute. These are generally very small moths with narrow, fringed wings. The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of most species feed internally on various parts of their host

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

s, sometimes causing

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

(''Pseudotsuga'') is a host plant common to many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the family, particularly of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Chionodes ''Chionodes'' is a genus of moths of the family Gelechiidae. It is distributed throughout much of the world. The larvae of many species use the Douglas fir as a host plant. Species *The formosella species-group **''Chionodes formosella''-complex ...

'', which as a result is more diverse in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

than usual for Gelechioidea. By the late 20th century, over 900 genera with altogether more than 4,500

were placed here, with about 650 genera known from North America alone. While these figures are certainly outdated, due to the many revisions to superfamily Gelechioidea and new descriptions of twirler moths, they still serve to show the enormous

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

contained in this important family. Being abundant, fecund plant-eaters, many species are

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

, including: * '' 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

e make twirler moths suitable for

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

invasive plant An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native speci ...

s. The spotted knapweed seedhead moth ('' Metzneria paucipunctella''), for example, is used to control spotted knapweed (''Centaurea maculosa'') in

Taxonomy and systematics

Compared to the other massively diverse Gelechioidea families – Coleophoridae (case-bearers) and

Oecophoridae Oecophoridae (concealer moths) is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this. ...

(concealer moths) – the

systematics Systematics is the study of the diversification of living forms, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees (synonyms: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

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. Of the

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zool ...

traditionally accepted for the Gelechiidae, only three were maintained for some time pending further information; at least one other, the Physoptilinae, were suggested to also be valid. But numerous genera of twirler moths – including most of the former "Deoclonidae" and also the proposed Physoptilinae – were of undetermined affiliation at that moment. Later studies, including a 2013 molecular analysis of the Gelechiidae, list the following subfamilies: Subfamily Anacampsinae Bruand, 1850
Subfamily Anomologinae Meyrick, 1926
Subfamily Apatetrinae Meyrick, 1947
Subfamily Dichomeridinae Hampson, 1918 (formerly including Chelariinae, which is now placed in Anacampsinae)
Subfamily

Gelechiinae Gelechiinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Henry Tibbats Stainton in 1854. Taxonomy The subfamily includes the following tribes and genera: *Litini Bruand, 1859 **'' Agnippe'' Chambers, 1872 **'' Altenia ...

Stainton, 1854
Subfamily Physoptilinae Meyrick, 1914
Subfamily Thiotrichinae Karsholt, Mutanen, Lee & Kaila, 2013 Genera ''

incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'' *'' Aerotypia'' Walsingham, 1911. *'' Antithyra'' Meyrick, 1906. *'' Coniogyra'' Meyrick, 1921. *'' Dicranucha'' Janse, 1954 *'' Metopios'' Lucas, 1945 *'' Paraschema'' Povolný, 1990 *'' Pseudosymmoca'' Rebel, 1903 *'' Sphagiocrates'' Meyrick, 1925 *'' Stenoalata'' Omelko in Omelko & Omelko, 1998 *'' Syrmadaula'' Meyrick, 1918

References

External links

* *
Gelechiidae

- list of preliminary subfamily/tribe assignments
mapress

Bugguide.net. Family Gelechiidae - Twirler Moths
{{Authority control Moth families