The Epipleminae or epiplemiine moths are 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

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 ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Uraniidae The Uraniidae are a family (biology), family of moths containing four subfamily (biology), subfamilies, 90 genera, and roughly 700 species. The family is distributed throughout the tropics of the Americas, Africa and Indo-Australia.Carter, David ...

. The subfamily was first described by

George Hampson Sir George Francis Hampson, 10th Baronet (14 January 1860 – 15 October 1936) was an English entomologist. Hampson studied at Charterhouse School and Exeter College, Oxford. He travelled to India to become a tea-planter in the Nilgiri Hills ...

in 1892. They are the most diverse and widespread uraniid group, occurring mainly throughout the Pantropics but barely reaching into the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions. The Epipleminae are notable for the

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

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

which is unlike any other lepidopteran's in details of its

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

. Some species are also peculiar in being able to roll their wings into a stick-like shape, possibly as a form of

crypsis In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an animal or a plant to avoid observation or detection by other animals. It may be part of a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation. Methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean life ...

. Such behavior has hitherto only been found in this subfamily and the quite unrelated

Ennominae Ennominae is the largest subfamily of the geometer moth family (Geometridae), with some 9,700 described species in 1,100 genera. Most species are fairly small, though some (such as the peppered moth) grow to be considerably large. This subfamily ...

(Sohn & Yen 2005). Unlike the often colorful

Uraniinae (1) Use ''Endospermum'' as a food plant.(2) Use ''Omphalea'' as a food plant and adults are diurnal. ''Urapterita'' is not included for lack of data. The Uraniinae or uraniine moths are a subfamily of moths in the family (biol ...

, they are smallish and drab species, and have earlier been erroneously placed with the

Geometridae The geometer moths are 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, paraphyleti ...

Drepanidae The Drepanidae are a family of moths with about 660 species described worldwide. They are generally divided in three subfamilies, which share the same type of hearing organ. Thyatirinae, previously often placed in their own family, bear a supe ...

based on

phenetic In biology, phenetics (; ), also known as taximetrics, is an attempt to classify organisms based on overall similarity, usually with respect to Morphology (biology), morphology or other observable traits, regardless of their phylogeny or evoluti ...

considerations. Only three species have come to note as minor pests of commercial plants: * '' Leucoplema dohertyi'' * '' Epiplema fulvilinea'' – does not belong into this genus * '' Dysaethria moza'' – formerly ''Epiplema''

Genera

This list of genera is preliminary. A complete review of the subfamily seems hardly possible as a monographical work given its diversity, so it will probably be reviewed piecemeal (e.g. Sohn & Yen 2005). Several genera are known ('' Epiplema'') or suspected ('' Monobolodes'', '' Phazaca'') not to be

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

, or may be altogether invalid (Sohn & Yen 2005). *'' Acropterygia'' *'' Alaplena'' *'' Anorthodisca'' *'' Antiplecta'' *'' Aoratosema'' *'' Aorista'' *'' Aphyodes'' *'' Arussiana'' *'' Asyngria'' *'' Bicavernosa'' *'' Calledapteryx'' *'' Callizzia'' *'' Capnophylla'' *''

Cathetus In a right triangle, a cathetus (originally from Greek , "perpendicular"; plural: catheti), commonly known as a leg, is either of the sides that are adjacent to the right angle. It is occasionally called a "side about the right angle". The side ...

'' *'' Ceronaba'' *'' Chaetoceras'' *''

Chaetopyga ''Epiplema'' is a genus of moths in the family Uraniidae described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1855. A number of species have been reassigned to ''Europlema''. Description Palpi porrect (extending forward), projecting beyond ...

'' *'' Chionoplema'' *'' Chrysocestis'' *'' Chundana'' *'' Cirrhura'' *'' Coelura'' *'' Coeluromima'' *'' Coelurotricha'' *'' Crypsicoela'' *'' Dasmeuda'' *'' Decetiodes'' *'' Dicroplema'' *'' Dysaethria'' *'' Dysrhombia'' *'' Epiplema'' (

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

) *'' Erosia'' *'' Europlema'' *''

Eversmannia ''Eversmannia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to subfamily Faboideae The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subf ...

'' *'' Falcinodes'' *'' Gathynia'' *'' Gymnoplocia'' *'' Heteroplema'' *'' Hyperplema'' *'' Hypophysaria'' *'' Hypoplema'' *'' Leuconotha'' *'' Leucoplema'' *'' Lophopygia'' *'' Lophotosoma'' *'' Macrostylodes'' *'' Madepiplema'' *'' Meleaba'' *'' Menda'' *'' Mesoglypta'' *'' Metorthocheilus'' *'' Microniodes'' *'' Molybdophora'' *'' Monobolodes'' – includes ''Cathetus''. Monophyly requires confirmation. *'' Monoplema'' *'' Morphomima'' *'' Nedusia'' *'' Neodeta'' *'' Neodirades'' *'' Neoplema'' *'' Notoptya'' *'' Nyctibadistes'' *'' Oroplema'' *'' Orudiza'' *''

Paloda ''Paloda'' was a literary magazine published in Bârlad, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to t ...

'' *'' Paradecetia'' *'' Paradirades'' *'' Paroecia'' *'' Paurophlebs'' *'' Phazaca'' - includes ''Balantiucha'', ''Dirades'', ''Diradopsis'', ''Homoplexis'', ''Lobogethes''. Monophyly requires confirmation. *'' Philagraula'' *'' Platerosia'' *'' Powondrella'' *'' Psamathia'' *'' Pseudhyria'' *'' Pseudodirades'' *'' Pterotosoma'' *'' Rhombophylla'' *'' Saccoploca'' *'' Schidax'' *'' Siculodopsis'' *'' Skaphion'' *'' Symphytophleps'' *'' Syngria'' *'' Syngriodes'' *'' Thysanocraspeda'' *'' Tricolpia'' *'' Trotorhombia'' *'' Warreniplema''

References

* Sohn, Jae-Cheon & Yen, Shen-Horn (2005)
"A Taxonomic Revision of the Korean Epipleminae (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae), with Phylogenetic Comments on the Involved Genera"
''Zoological Studies''. 44(1): 44–70. Uraniidae Fauna of the Pantropical realm {{Geometroidea-stub