''Epicephala'' (leafflower moths) is a genus 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 in the family

Gracillariidae 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 ...

. ''Epicephala'' is of note in the fields of pollination biology and

coevolution In biology, coevolution occurs when two or more species reciprocally affect each other's evolution through the process of natural selection. The term sometimes is used for two traits in the same species affecting each other's evolution, as well a ...

because many species in this genus are pollinators of plants in the genera ''

Glochidion ''Glochidion'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phyllanthaceae, known as cheese trees or buttonwood in Australia, and leafflower trees in the scientific literature. It comprises about 170 species, distributed from Madagascar to the Pa ...

'', ''

Phyllanthus ''Phyllanthus'' is the largest genus in the plant family Phyllanthaceae. Estimates of the number of species in this genus vary widely, from 750David J. Mabberley. 2008. ''Mabberley's Plant-Book.'' third edition (2008). Cambridge University ...

'', and ''

Breynia ''Breynia'' is a genus in the flowering plant family Phyllanthaceae, first described in 1776. It is native to Southeast Asia, China, Réunion, the Indian Subcontinent, Papuasia and Australia. The name ''Breynia'' is a conserved name, it is recog ...

'' (

Phyllanthaceae Phyllanthaceae is a Family (biology), family of flowering plants in the eudicot Order (biology), order Malpighiales. It is most closely related to the family Picrodendraceae.Kenneth J. Wurdack and Charles C. Davis. 2009. "Malpighiales phylogeneti ...

). These pollinating ''Epicephala'' actively pollinate the flowers of their host plants—thereby ensuring that the plants may produce viable seeds—but also lay eggs in the flowers' ovaries, where their larvae consume a subset of the developing seeds as nourishment.Kawakita, A.; Kato, M. (2009) "Repeated independent evolution of obligate pollination mutualism in the Phyllantheae-''Epicephala'' association." ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B.'' 276: 417–426. This relationship is similar to other specialized pollinating seed-predation

mutualism Mutualism may refer to: * Mutualism (biology), positive interactions between species * Mutualism (economic theory), associated with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon * Mutualism (movement), social movement promoting mutual organizations * Mutualism model o ...

s such as those between

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of tree or shrub in the flowering plant family Moraceae, native to the Mediterranean region, together with western and southern Asia. It has been cultivated since ancient times and i ...

and

fig wasp Fig wasps are wasps of the superfamily Chalcidoidea which spend their larval stage inside fig syconia. Some are pollinators but others simply feed off the plant. The non-pollinators belong to several groups within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, ...

s and

yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

s and yucca moths. Other species of ''Epicephala'' consume the seeds of species of ''

'' or ''

Flueggea ''Flueggea'', the bushweeds, is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1806. It is widespread across much of Asia, Africa, and various oceanic islands, with a few species in South America and on th ...

'' (

) as larvae, but do not pollinate their host plants as adults. At least some of these species have evolved from pollinating ancestors.Kawakita, A.; Kato, M. 2009. "Repeated independent evolution of obligate pollination mutualism in the Phyllantheae-''Epicephala'' association." ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B.'' 276: 417–426.

Species

*''

Epicephala acrobaphes ''Epicephala acrobaphes'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest ...

'' (Turner, 1900) *'' Epicephala acrocarpa'' Meyrick, 1927 *''

Epicephala albifrons ''Epicephala albifrons'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from India (Karnataka, West Bengal and Kerala), Indonesia (Buru), Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The larvae feed on ''Phyllanthus'' species, including ''Phyllanthus n ...

'' (Stainton, 1859) *'' Epicephala albistriatella'' (Turner, 1894) *'' Epicephala ancistropis'' Meyrick, 1935 *'' Epicephala ancylopa'' Meyrick, 1918 *''

Epicephala angustisaccula ''Epicephala angustisaccula'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, ...

'' Li, 2015 *''

Epicephala anthophilia ''Epicephala anthophilia'' is a 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, pa ...

'' Kawakita A, Kato M, 2016 *'' Epicephala australis'' (Turner, 1896) *'' Epicephala bathrobaphes'' Turner, 1947 *''

Epicephala bipollenella ''Epicephala bipollenella'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found in Fujian, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 b ...

'' Zhang, Hu, Wang & Li, 2012Zhang, J., Hu, B., Wang, S. & Li, H. (2012). "Six new species of ''Epicephala'' Meyrick, 1880 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) associated with Phyllanthaceae plants." ''Zootaxa'' 3275: 43-54. *'' Epicephala bromias'' Meyrick, 1910 *'' Epicephala calasiris'' Meyrick, 1908 *''

Epicephala camurella ''Epicephala camurella'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it i ...

'' Li, 2015 *''

Epicephala colymbetella ''Epicephala colymbetella'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is known from the states of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. The larvae feed on ''Glochidion ferdinandi''. They feed in the seed capsules. The related '' E. spin ...

'' Meyrick, 1880 *''

Epicephala corruptrix ''Epicephala corruptrix'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found on the Ryukyu Archipelago (Amami Island, Tokuno Island, Okinawa Island, Ishigaki Island and Iriomote Island). The wingspan is 7.2–8.8 mm. The forewings are b ...

'' Kawakita A, Kato M, 2016 *''

Epicephala domina ''Epicephala domina'' is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It is found in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is t ...

'' Li, 2015 *'' Epicephala epimicta'' (Turner, 1913) *'' Epicephala eriocarpa'' Zhang, Hu, Wang & Li, 2012 *'' Epicephala euchalina'' Meyrick, 1922 *'' Epicephala eugonia'' Turner, 1913 *'' Epicephala exetastis'' Meyrick, 1908 *'' Epicephala flagellata'' Meyrick, 1908 *'' Epicephala frenata'' Meyrick, 1908 *'' Epicephala haplodoxa'' Vári, 1961 *'' Epicephala homostola'' Vári, 1961 *'' Epicephala impolliniferens'' Li, 2015 *'' Epicephala jansei'' Vári, 1961 *'' Epicephala laeviclada'' Li, 2015 *'' Epicephala lanceolaria'' Zhang, Hu, Wang & Li, 2012 *'' Epicephala lanceolatella'' Kawakita A, Kato M, 2016 *'' Epicephala lativalvaris'' Zhang, Hu, Wang & Li, 2012 *'' Epicephala lomatographa'' Turner, 1913 *'' Epicephala microcarpa'' Li, 2015 *'' Epicephala mirivalvata'' Zhang, Hu, Wang & Li, 2012 *'' Epicephala nephelodes'' Turner, 1913 *'' Epicephala nudilingua'' Kawakita A, Kato M, 2016 *'' Epicephala obovatella'' Kawakita A, Kato M, 2016 *'' Epicephala orientale'' (Stainton, 1856) *'' Epicephala parasitica'' Kawakita A, Kato M, 2016 *'' Epicephala pelopepla'' Vári, 1961 *'' Epicephala periplecta'' (Diakonoff, 1955) *'' Epicephala perplexa'' Kawakita A, Kato M, 2016 *'' Epicephala pyrrhogastra'' Meyrick, 1908 *'' Epicephala relictella'' Kuznetzov, 1979 *'' Epicephala scythropis'' Meyrick, 1930 *'' Epicephala sphenitis'' Meyrick, 1931 *'' Epicephala spinula'' Clarke, 1986 *'' Epicephala spumosa'' Turner, 1947 *'' Epicephala squamella'' Kuznetzov & Baryshnikova, 2001 *'' Epicephala stauropa'' Meyrick, 1908 *'' Epicephala strepsiploca'' Meyrick, 1918 *'' Epicephala subtilis'' Meyrick, 1922 *'' Epicephala tephrostola'' Vári, 1961 *'' Epicephala tertiaria'' Li, 2015 *'' Epicephala trigonophora'' (Turner, 1900) *'' Epicephala venenata'' Meyrick, 1935 *'' Epicephala vermiformis'' Meyrick, 1936 *'' Epicephala vitisidaea'' Zhang, Hu, Wang & Li, 2012 *'' Epicephala zalosticha'' Turner, 1940

References

External links

Global Taxonomic Database of Gracillariidae (Lepidoptera)

Youtube video of an ''Epicephala lanceolaria'' pollinating a host ''Glochidion lanceolarium'' flower
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5382502 Gracillariinae Gracillarioidea genera Taxa named by Edward Meyrick