''Sphenarches'' 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

Pterophoridae The Pterophoridae or plume moths are a family of Lepidoptera with unusually modified wings, giving them the shape of a narrow winged airplane. Though they belong to the Apoditrysia like the larger moths and the butterflies, unlike these they are ...

. Species in this genus are distributed in regions with

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...

climates, and are also found in Japan and southern Canada. Host plants for the genus are ''

Dolichos lablab ''Lablab purpureus'' is a species of bean in the family Fabaceae. It is native to sub-Saharan Africa and it is cultivated throughout the tropics for food.Lagenaria leucantha clavata'', and ''L. leucantha gourda''.

Species

* '' Sphenarches anisodactylus'' (syn: '' Sphenarches synophrys'' (type)) * '' Sphenarches bilineatus'' Yano, 1963 * '' Sphenarches bifurcatus'' * '' Sphenarches caffer'' (Zeller, 1852) * '' Sphenarches cafferoides'' Gibeaux, 1996 * '' Sphenarches nanellus'' * '' Sphenarches ontario'' (McDunnough, 1927) * '' Sphenarches zanclistes'' (Meyrick, 1905)

Species of doubtful validity

''Sphenarches languidus'' was originally described as ''Oxyptilus languidus'', discovered in Colombia by Felder and Rogenhofer in 1875. The species's validity is uncertain; it may be a synonym of '' Sphenarches nanellus.'' The type specimen of this species is in poor condition, and more information has not been found. Contemporary knowledge is not able to differentiate between the two species.

References

Platyptiliini Fauna of the Pantropical realm Moth genera Taxa named by Edward Meyrick {{Pterophoridae-stub