Crambidae comprises the grass moth family of
lepidoptera
Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...
ns. They are variable in appearance, with the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly coloured and patterned insects that rest in wing-spread attitudes.
In many classifications, the Crambidae have been treated as a
subfamily
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 zo ...
of the
Pyralidae
The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyr ...
or snout moths. The principal difference is a structure in the
tympanal organs called the praecinctorium, which joins two tympanic membranes in the Crambidae, and is absent from the Pyralidae. The latest review by Munroe and Solis, in Kristensen (1999), retains the Crambidae as a full family. The family currently comprises 15 subfamilies with altogether 10,347 species in over 1,000 genera.
Systematics
*subfamilia incertae sedis
**''Conotalis''
Hampson, 1919
**''Exsilirarcha''
Salmon & Bradley, 1956
*Subfamily Acentropinae
Stephens, 1836
*Subfamily
Crambinae
Crambinae is a large subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. It currently includes over 1,800 species worldwide. The larvae are root feeders or stem borers, mostly on grasses. A few species are pests of sod grasse ...
Latreille, 1810
*Subfamily
Erupinae Munroe, 1995
*Subfamily
Glaphyriinae Forbes, 1923 (= Evergestinae
Marion, 1952, Noordinae
Minet, 1980,
[Regier, J. C., C. Mitter, M. A. Solis, J. E. Hayden, B. Landry, M. Nuss, T. J. Simonsen, S.-H. Yen , A. Zwick & M. P. Cummings 2012]
A molecular phylogeny for the pyraloid moths (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea) and its implications for higher-level classification.
– Systematic Entomology, London 37 (4): 635–656. Cybalomiinae
Marion, 1955, Cathariinae
Minet, 1982)
*Subfamily
Heliothelinae Amsel, 1961
*Subfamily
Hoploscopinae Robinson et al., 1994
*Subfamily
Lathrotelinae Clarke, 1971
*Subfamily
Linostinae Amsel, 1956
*Subfamily
Midilinae Munroe, 1958
*Subfamily
Musotiminae Meyrick, 1884
*Subfamily
Odontiinae Guenée, 1854
*Subfamily
Pyraustinae Meyrick, 1890
*Subfamily
Schoenobiinae Duponchel, 1846
*Subfamily
Scopariinae Guenée, 1854
*Subfamily
Spilomelinae Guenée, 1854 (= Wurthiinae
Roepke, 1916)
Relationship with humans
Since crambids are relatively common throughout human settlements, the moths tend to affect crops and gardens, whether harmfully, beneficially or harmlessly. Beneficial crambids include the water hyacinth moth (''
Niphograpta albiguttalis''), used to control its host (''
Eichhornia crassipes''), the water veneer (''
Acentria ephemerella''), a biocontrol agent used against
Eurasian watermilfoil,
and the bamboo borer (''
Omphisa fuscidentalis''), of which the caterpillars are used
for human consumption. The mint moth (''
Pyrausta aurata'') is an example of a harmless crambid.
Crambid larvae are typically
stem borers in plants of the
grass family. As this family contains many important crops, some Crambidae species achieve pest status. The
European corn borer ''Ostrinia nubilalis'' is perhaps the best known; introduced to the United States in the early 1900s, it is now widespread in all but the westernmost states. Other pest species include the pearl millet stem borer (''
Coniesta ignefusalis''), the spotted stalk borer (''
Chilo partellus''), the Asiatic rice borer (''
Chilo suppressalis''), sod webworms (''
Crambus'' spp.), ''
Duponchelia fovealis'', the sugarcane borer (''
Diatraea saccharalis''), bean pod borers (''
Maruca'' spp.), the rice white stemborer (''
Scirpophaga innotata''), the southwestern corn borer (''
Diatraea grandiosella''), and the grape leaffolder (''
Desmia maculalis'').
Gallery
Image:Maruca vitrata.jpg, '' Maruca vitrata''
File:Moth from Spilomelinae under Crambidae W IMG_2758.jpg, Spilomelinae species
File:Agriphila straminella on Achillea.ogv, '' Agriphila straminella'' on Achillea
File:Aethaloessa calidalis by Kadavoor.jpg, '' Aethaloessa calidalis''
File:Bocchoris inspersalis on Desmodium triflorum at Kadavoor.jpg, '' Bocchoris inspersalis'' on '' Desmodium triflorum''
File:Orange Mint Moth 9297.8.24.07.w.wiki.jpg, '' Pyrausta orphisalis''
File:Celery Leaftier.jpg, ''Udea rubigalis
''Udea rubigalis'', the celery leaftier or greenhouse leaftier, is a member of the family Crambidae. It is found across the Americas. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1854.
The larvae are List of feeding behaviours#By food t ...
''
File:Herpetogramma adult.jpg, ''Herpetogramma'' sp.
See also
*
List of crambid genera
References
Further reading
* Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). 1999. Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. ''Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom.'' Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.
External links
"Family Crambidae" ''Insecta.pro''
on the
UF /
IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
''Diatraea saccharalis'', sugarcane borer
Cirrus Digital
*
{{Taxonbar , from=Q132980
Moth families
Articles containing video clips
Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille