''Scirpophaga'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
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 of the
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 ...
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 ...
described by
Georg Friedrich Treitschke in 1832. Asian species include significant
rice
Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
stemborer pests.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Scirpophaga'' was first introduced by Treitschke in 1832 as a
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
genus; including as single species ''Scirpophaga phantasmatella'' (which he misspelled as ''S. phantasmella'', and which is now known as
''S. praelata'').
During most of history this genus has been completely confused, with most specimens being wrongly identified and most taxa being based on a
type series containing numerous species. Males and females of the same species were often recognised as two independent species.
[ Almost two centuries after the first species was described, in 1960 the Australian ]entomologist
Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
Ian Francis Bell Common was the first to examine the genitalia (for centuries the standard method by which one determines species in Lepidoptera) of the Australian specimens in this group, recombining and splitting the then defined genera into a number of new genera. He created the new genus ''Tryporyza'', in which he incorporated two species: ''Chilo incertulas'' and ''Tipanaea innotata''[
Treitschke gives as ]etymology
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
for the generic epithet the word '' Scirpus'', a type of plant commonly known as a "rush", and the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
word φαγεῖν (transliterated ''phageîn''), which means "to eat".[
]
Description
Palpi porrect (extending forward) extending from once to twice the length of head, slightly hairy, and with downcurved third joint. Maxillary palp rather short and dilated with scales. A slight rounded frontal projection can be seen. Antennae of male minutely serrated, and ciliated. Patagia of male with spreading upturned hair. Tibia with outer spurs about half the length of inner. Abdomen long, where in female expanding at extremity and with very large anal tuft. Wings long and narrow. Forewings with vein 3 from before angle of cell. Veins 4 and 5 from angle and vein 7 straight and well separated from veins 8 and 9. Veins 10 and 11 free, or vein 11 becoming coincident with vein 12. Hindwings with vein 3 from near angle of cell. Veins 6 and 7 from upper angle.
Species
*''praelata'' species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
**'' Scirpophaga gilviberbis'' Zeller, 1863
**'' Scirpophaga humilis'' Wang, Li & Chen, 1986
**'' Scirpophaga imparellus'' (Meyrick, 1878)
**'' Scirpophaga melanoclista'' Meyrick, 1935
**'' Scirpophaga nivella'' (Fabricius, 1794)
**'' Scirpophaga parvalis'' (Wileman, 1911)
**'' Scirpophaga percna'' Common, 1960
**'' Scirpophaga praelata'' (Scopoli, 1763)
**'' Scirpophaga phaedima'' Common, 1960
**'' Scirpophaga xantharrenes'' Common, 1960
**'' Scirpophaga xanthopygata'' Schawerda, 1922
*''excerptalis'' species group
**'' Scirpophaga adunctella'' Chen, Song & Wu, 2006
**'' Scirpophaga bradleyi'' Lewvanich, 1981
**'' Scirpophaga brunnealis'' (Hampson, 1919)
**'' Scirpophaga excerptalis'' (Walker, 1863)
**'' Scirpophaga flavidorsalis'' (Hampson, 1919)
**'' Scirpophaga khasis'' Lewvanich, 1981
**'' Scirpophaga linguatella'' Chen, Song & Wu, 2006
**'' Scirpophaga magnella'' de Joannis, 1930
**'' Scirpophaga ochritinctalis'' (Hampson, 1919)
**'' Scirpophaga xanthogastrella'' (Walker, 1863)
**'' Scirpophaga tongyaii'' Lewvanich, 1981
*''occidentella'' species group
**'' Scirpophaga fusciflua'' Hampson, 1893
**'' Scirpophaga goliath'' Marion & Viette, 1953
**'' Scirpophaga marginepunctellus'' (de Joannis, 1927)
**'' Scirpophaga occidentella'' (Walker, 1863)
**'' Scirpophaga ochroleuca'' Meyrick, 1882
**'' Scirpophaga serenus'' (Meyrick, 1935)
**'' Scirpophaga subumbrosa'' Meyrick, 1933
**'' Scirpophaga virginia'' Schultze, 1908
*''lineata'' species group
**'' Scirpophaga lineata'' (Butler, 1879)
**'' Scirpophaga auristrigellus'' (Hampson, 1896)
**'' Scirpophaga aurivena'' (Hampson, 1903)
*''incertulas'' species group
**'' Scirpophaga incertulas'' (Walker, 1863)
**'' Scirpophaga innotata'' (Walker, 1863)
*''gotoi'' species group
**'' Scirpophaga gotoi'' Lewvanich, 1981
*''whalleyi'' species group
**'' Scirpophaga whalleyi'' Lewvanich, 1981
*unknown species group
**'' Scirpophaga bipunctatus'' (Rothschild in Sjöstedt, 1926)
**'' Scirpophaga fulvilinealis'' Hampson, 1900
**'' Scirpophaga kumatai'' Lewvanich, 1981
**'' Scirpophaga micraurea'' Sasaki, 1994
**'' Scirpophaga nepalensis'' Lewvanich, 1981
**'' Scirpophaga terrella'' Hampson, 1896
References
* Chen, F.Q., Song, S. & Weng, C.S. (2006). "A review of the genus ''Scirpophaga'' Treitschke, 1832 in China (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)" ''Zootaxa'' 1236: 1-22.
* Fabricius (1794). ''Entomologia Systematica emendata et Aucta'' 3(2): 296.
*
* Schawerda (1922). ''Z. öst. Ent. ver.'' 7: 11.
* Scopoli (1763). ''Ent. carniolica, exhibens Ins. Carnioliae indigena'': 198.
* Treitschke (1832). ''Die Schmetterlinge von Europa'' 9(1): 55.
* Wang P, Li, C. & Chen, X. (1986) ''Acta Entomologica Sinica'' 29 (2): 208–210.
* Wileman (1911). ''Transactions of the Entomological Society of London'': 355.
{{Authority control
Schoenobiinae
Crambidae genera
Taxa named by Georg Friedrich Treitschke