The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, 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 which rest in wing-spread attitudes. In many classifications, the Crambidae have been treated as a subfamily 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 Pyra ...

or snout-moths. The principal difference is a structure in the

tympanal organ A tympanal organ (or tympanic organ) is a hearing organ in insects, consisting of a membrane ( tympanum) stretched across a frame backed by an air sac and associated sensory neurons. Sounds vibrate the membrane, and the vibrations are sensed by ...

s 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 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 ''Linosta'' is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems wh ...

Amsel, 1956 *Subfamily

Midilinae Midilinae is a subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae. It was described by Eugene G. Munroe in 1958. The 10 genera altogether comprise 57 species, with the majority of them occurring in the Neotropical realm, whereas '' Dolichobela'' and ' ...

Munroe, 1958 *Subfamily Musotiminae Meyrick, 1884 *Subfamily

Odontiinae Odontiinae is a subfamily of moths of the family Crambidae. The subfamily was described by Achille Guenée in 1854. Tribes * Hercynini **'' Aeglotis'' **'' Autocharis'' **'' Balaenifrons'' **'' Blepharucha'' **'' Boeotarcha'' (= ''Botys cras ...

Guenée, 1854 *Subfamily

Pyraustinae Pyraustinae is a large subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. It currently includes over 1,400 species; most of them tropical but some found in temperate regions including both North America and Europe. The P ...

Meyrick, 1890 *Subfamily

Schoenobiinae Schoenobiinae is a subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae. The subfamily was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1846. Genera *''Adelpherupa'' Hampson, 1919 (= ''Limnopsares'' Meyrick, 1934, ''Schoenoploca ''Meyrick, 1933 ...

Duponchel, 1846 *Subfamily Scopariinae Guenée, 1854 *Subfamily

Spilomelinae Spilomelinae is a very species-rich subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. With 4,135 described species in 344 genera worldwide, it is the most speciose group among pyraloids. Description Imagines – the adu ...

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 ''Niphograpta'' is a genus of moths of the family Crambidae. It contains only one species, the water hyacinth moth (''Niphograpta albiguttalis''). It is native to the Amazon basin, but has been introduced in North America (where it is found from ...

''), used to control its host (''

Eichhornia crassipes ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.Acentria ephemerella ''Acentria'' is a monotypic moth genus of the family Crambidae described by James Francis Stephens in 1829. Its only species, ''Acentria ephemerella'', the watermilfoil moth or water veneer, was described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermülle ...

''), 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 The mint moth (''Pyrausta aurata'') is a small moth from the family Crambidae, also known by the common name ''Small Purple and Gold''. Distribution This species can be found in most of Europe and it is also widespread in North Africa and Nort ...

'') is an example of a harmless crambid. Crambid larvae are typically

stem borer A stemborer (stem borer) is any insect larva, or arthropod, that bores into plant stems. However the term most frequently refers among the Coleoptera to the larva of certain longhorn beetles such as '' Dorysthenes buqueti'' and those of the genus '' ...

s 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 ''Chilo suppressalis'', the Asiatic rice borer or striped rice stemborer, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is a widespread species, known from Iran, India, Sri Lanka, China, eastern Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia to the Pacific. It is a seri ...

''), sod webworms ('' Crambus'' spp.), '' Duponchelia fovealis'', the sugarcane borer (''

Diatraea saccharalis ''Diatraea saccharalis'', the sugarcane borer, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It was described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. It is native to the Caribbean, Central America, and the warmer parts of South America south to n ...

''), bean pod borers ('' Maruca'' spp.), the rice white stemborer ('' Scirpophaga innotata''), the southwestern corn borer ('' Diatraea grandiosella''), and the grape leaffolder (''

Desmia maculalis ''Desmia funeralis'', the grape leaffolder, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is found across the southern parts of the United States to California, north to the northeastern states and southeastern Canada. The wingspan is 21–28 mm. Ad ...

'').

Gallery

Image:Maruca vitrata.jpg, '' Maruca vitrata'' File:Moth from Spilomelinae under Crambidae W IMG_2758.jpg,

species File:Agriphila straminella on Achillea.ogv, '' Agriphila straminella'' on Achillea File:Aethaloessa calidalis by Kadavoor.jpg, ''

Aethaloessa calidalis ''Aethaloessa calidalis'' is a moth of the family Crambidae described by Achille Guenée in 1854. It is found throughout the Seychelles, South and South-East Asia, Australia and on many Pacific islands. This moth figured on an 8-cent stamp of ...

'' File:Bocchoris inspersalis on Desmodium triflorum at Kadavoor.jpg, '' Bocchoris inspersalis'' on ''

Desmodium triflorum ''Grona triflora'', known as creeping tick trefoil or three-flower beggarweed, is a plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to tropical regions around the globe and introduced to subtropical regions including the southern United States. File ...

'' File:Orange Mint Moth 9297.8.24.07.w.wiki.jpg, ''

Pyrausta orphisalis ''Pyrausta orphisalis'', the orange mint moth or orange-spotted pyrausta, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1859. It is found in North America from Newfoundland west to British Columbia, south t ...

'' 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 polyphagous and feed on a wide vari ...

'' File:Herpetogramma adult.jpg, ''Herpetogramma'' sp.

References

External links

"Family Crambidae"
''Insecta.pro''

on the UF /

IFAS IFAS may refer: * Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences * Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge, a sewage treatment process * International French adjectival system In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, clim ...

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

Systematics

Relationship with humans

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links