The Pyralinae are the typical

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 ...

snout moth The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family (biology), family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian Taxonomic rank, superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Cramb ...

s (

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 ...

Pyralidae) and occur essentially worldwide, in some cases aided by involuntary introduction by humans. They are rather rare in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

however, and their diversity in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n region is also limited. Altogether, this subfamily includes about 900 described

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), ...

, but new ones continue to be discovered. Like many of their relatives in the superfamily

Pyraloidea The Pyraloidea (pyraloid moths or snout moths) are a moth superfamily containing about 16,000 described species worldwide, and probably at least as many more remain to be described. They are generally fairly small moths, and as such, they have ...

, the

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

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 Pyralinae – and in some cases even the adults – have

evolved Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

the ability to use unusual foods for nutrition; a few of these can become harmful to humans as pests of stored goods.Solis (2007)

Description and ecology

This subfamily unites mid-sized to smallish moths with a more or less cryptic coloration including most often various hues of brownish colors. Adult females of Pyralinae (except '' Cardamyla'' and '' Embryoglossa'') are characterized by the short

genital A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting ...

ductus bursae, their corpus bursae barely extending forward beyond

abdominal The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

segment 7. Otherwise they are undistinguished mid-sized moths (large by

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 ...

standards) which at least sometimes can be differentiated from their relatives by possessing forewing

vein Veins () are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and feta ...

7 and having hindwing veins 7 and 8 unjoined as adults. The meal moth (''Pyralis farinalis'') and the grease moth (''Aglossa pinguinalis'') are pests of stored food products, in the case of the grease moth including

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

s (which are also eaten by the adult moths), and have been inadvertently spread almost worldwide by transport of such goods. Most other

s are leaf feeders; the extremely

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

larvae of '' Pyralis manihotalis'' have been reared from bat guano.

Systematics

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 ...

and

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 ...

of this subfamily is somewhat provisional. No

quantitative Quantitative may refer to: * Quantitative research, scientific investigation of quantitative properties * Quantitative analysis (disambiguation) * Quantitative verse, a metrical system in poetry * Statistics, also known as quantitative analysis ...

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analysis had been done as of 2007, but in the mid-late 1990s, Michael Shaffer of the London

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

and

Maria Alma Solis Maria Alma Solis (born February 9, 1956) is an entomologist at the Systematic Entomology Laboratory (SEL) of the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Early life Maria Alma Solis was born on February 9, 1956, ...

of the NMNH prepared the groundwork for further studies by their comprehensive qualitative reviews of Pyralinae

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

cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...

studies of the

do exist however, and these place the Pyralinae among the advanced snout moths, a lineage which otherwise includes the even more autapomorphic subfamilies

Epipaschiinae The Epipaschiinae are a subfamily of snout moths (family Pyralidae). More than 720 species are known today, which are found mainly in the tropics and subtropics. Some occur in temperate regions, but the subfamily is apparently completely absent f ...

and

Phycitinae The Phycitinae are a subfamily of snout moths (family (biology), family Pyralidae). Even though the Pyralidae subfamilies are all quite diverse, Phycitinae stand out even by standards of their family: with over 600 genera considered valid and mor ...

. Even though the Pyralinae contain a high number of

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

and

, there are a mere three

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s generally accepted nowadays. Others that were proposed earlier (in some cases even as independent subfamilies within

) are presently treated as

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

s of the

Pyralini The Pyralini are a tribe (biology), tribe of snout moths described by Pierre André Latreille in 1809. They belong to the subfamily Pyralinae, which contains the "typical" snout moths of the Old World and some other regions. The genus list presen ...

. A large number of genera are considered not to be reliably assignable to one of the three tribes. It is not certain that the presently-used subdivisions of the Pyralinae are the last word on the issue. The tribes – with some significant genera and species also noted – and the genera of unclear affiliation in this subfamily are:See references in Savela (2011)

Endotrichini The Endotrichini are a tribe of moths of the family Pyralidae described by Émile Louis Ragonot in 1890. Genera *''Endosimilis'' Whalley, 1961 *''Endotricha'' Zeller, 1847 (= ''Doththa'' Walker, 1859, ''Endotrichodes'' Ragonot, 1891, ''Endotrich ...

Ragonot, 1890 (= Endotrichinae) * '' Endotricha'' Zeller, 1847 ** '' Endotricha flammealis'' ** '' Endotricha ignealis'' ** '' Endotricha pyrosalis'' * ''Persicoptera'' Meyrick, 1884 ** '' Persicoptera compsopa'' Hypotiini Chapman, 1902 (= Hypotiinae) * '' Hypotia'' Zeller, 1847

* Almost 40 genera

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 ...

'' * '' Acteniopsis'' Amsel, 1959 * ''

Adulis Adulis (Sabaic, Sabaean: 𐩱 𐩵 𐩡 𐩪, , ) was an ancient city along the Red Sea in the Gulf of Zula, about south of Massawa. Its ruins lie within the modern Eritrean list of cities in Eritrea, city of Zula. It was the emporium (antiquit ...

'' Ragonot, 1891 * '' Aglossodes'' Ragonot, 1891 * '' Antisindris'' Marion, 1955 * '' Arctioblepsis'' C. & R.Felder, 1862 * '' Benderia'' Amsel, 1949 * '' Betsimisaraka'' Marion, 1955 * '' Burgeonidea'' Ghesquière, 1942 * '' Celetostola'' Meyrick, 1936 * '' Comaria'' Ragonot, 1892 * '' Cosmethella'' Munroe & Shaffer, 1980 * '' Delopterus'' Janse, 1922 * '' Diboma'' Walker, 1863 * '' Diloxia'' Hampson, 1896 * '' Discordia'' Swinhoe, 1885 * '' Elaealis'' Hampson, 1906 * '' Embryoglossa'' Warren, 1896 * '' Epacternis'' Meyrick, 1933 * '' Ethelontides'' Meyrick, 1934 * '' Euryzonella'' Ghesquière, 1942 * '' Eutrichodes'' Warren, 1891 * '' Grammiphlebia'' Hampson, 1906 * '' Gvelilia'' Strand, 1920 * '' Haplosindris'' Viette, 1953 * '' Heterocrasa'' Warren, 1896 * '' Hirayamaia'' Marumo, 1917 * '' Hyboloma'' Ragonot, 1891 * '' Hypanchyla'' Warren, 1891 * '' Hypsidia'' Rothschild, 1896 * '' Imerina'' Ragonot, 1891 * '' Lamacha'' Walker, 1863 * '' Larice'' Ragonot, 1892 * '' Latagognoma'' Tams, 1935 * ''

Lophocera ''Lophocera'' is a genus of Pyralidae, snout moths described by George Hamilton Kenrick in 1917. Palpi are upturned, the third joint well developed and acute, proboscis present; antennae pectinated (comb like) in the male, with a bunch in the mid ...

'' Kenrick, 1917 * '' Lorymav'' Walker, 1859 (Pyralini?) * '' Lorymana'' Strand, 1915 * '' Lorymodes'' Hampson, 1917 * '' Macropyralis'' Amsel, 1953 * '' Marionana'' Viette, 1953 * '' Maschalandra'' Meyrick, 1937 * ''

Meca ''mecA'' is a gene found in bacterial cells which allows them to be resistant to antibiotics such as methicillin, penicillin and other penicillin-like antibiotics. The bacteria strain most commonly known to carry ''mecA'' is methicillin-resistan ...

'' Karsch, 1900 * '' Megalomia'' Ragonot, 1891 * '' Melanalis'' Hampson, 1906 * '' Mesosindris'' Viette, 1967 * '' Methora'' Walker, 1866 * '' Micromystix'' de Joannis, 1929 * '' Mimicia'' Caradja, 1925 * '' Minooa'' Yamanaka, 1996 * '' Mittonia'' Whalley, 1964 * '' Namibina'' Leraut, 2007 * '' Namibiodes'' Leraut, 2007 * '' Neobostra'' Hampson, 1906 * '' Nhoabe'' Viette, 1953 * '' Nussia'' Leraut, 2009 * ''

Ocydina ''Ocydina'' is a monotypic Pyralidae, snout moth genus described by Edward Meyrick in 1936. Its single species, ''Ocydina syngrammaula'', described by the same author in the same year, is found in Congo (area), Congo. References

Pyralidae ...

'' Meyrick, 1936 * '' Omphalobasella'' Strand, 1915 * '' Omphalomia'' Swinhoe, 1894 * '' Orybina'' Snellen, 1895 * '' Parachmidia'' Hampson, 1896 * '' Paraglossa'' Hampson, 1906 * '' Paraphycita'' Hampson, 1901 * '' Perforadix'' Sein, 1930 * '' Perula'' Mabille, 1900 * '' Peucela'' Ragonot, 1891 * '' Phasga'' Walker, 1863 * '' Pithyllis'' Grünberg, 1910 * '' Poliostola'' Janse, 1922 * '' Polycampsis'' Warren, 1896 * '' Propachys'' Walker, 1863 * '' Proropera'' Warren, 1896 * '' Prosaris'' Meyrick, 1894 * '' Proteinia'' Hampson, 1896 * '' Pseudozitha'' Leraut, 2007 * '' Pyralosis'' Amsel, 1957 * '' Rhynchetera'' Hampson, 1896 * '' Rhynchopygia'' Hampson, 1896 * '' Rostripalpus'' Hampson, 1896 * '' Rungsina'' Leraut, 2004 * '' Sacada'' Walker, 1862 * '' Setomigma'' Ghesquière, 1942 * '' Scotomera'' Butler, 1881 (Pyralini?) * '' Sindris'' Boisduval, 1833 * '' Sphalerosticha'' Warren, 1897 * '' Sybrida'' Walker, 1865 * '' Tegulifera'' Saalmüller, 1880 (Pyralini?) * '' Toccolosida'' Walker, 1863 * '' Trihauchenia'' Warren, 1892 * '' Triphassa'' Hübner, 1818 * ''

Tyndis Tyndis (, Tamil: Thondi) was an ancient south Indian seaport/harbor-town mentioned in the Graeco-Roman writings. It was located north of port Muziris (Muchiri) — by around 500 stadia — in the country of the Chera rulers. No archaeologica ...

'' Ragonot, 1891 * '' Vitessidia'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1905 * '' Xenomilia'' Warren, 1896 * '' Zitha'' Walker,

866 __NOTOC__ Year 866 ( DCCCLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * April 21 – Bardas, the regent of the Byzantine Empire, is murdered by Basil the Macedonian at Miletu ...

/small> (including ''Tamraca''; Pyralini?) The genus '' Micronix'', formerly placed here, seems to belong to the

Crambidae Crambidae comprises the grass moth family of lepidopterans. 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 ...

, but its exact placement is obscure. For a similar case, see ''

Tanaobela ''Tanaobela'' is a genus of moths in the superfamily Pyraloidea containing only one species, ''Tanaobela chrysochlora'', which is found in Australia, where it has been recorded from Queensland. Its affiliations are disputed. The wingspan T ...

''.

Footnotes

References

* (1986): Pyralidae and Microlepidoptera of the Marquesas Archipelago. ''Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology'' 416: 1–485
PDF fulltext
(214 MB!) * (2011)

Version of 2011-MAR-03. Retrieved 2011-MAY-29. * (2007): Phylogenetic studies and modern classification of the Pyraloidea (Lepidoptera). ''Revista Colombiana de Entomología'' 33(1): 1-8 nglish with Spanish abstractbr>HTML fulltext
{{Authority control Moth subfamilies *