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 ...
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 ...
Spilomelinae
Spilomelinae is a very species-rich subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. With 4,180 described species in 351 genera worldwide, it is the most speciose group among pyraloidea, pyraloids.
Description
Imagines ...
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 ...
. It was described by
Achille Guenée
Achille Guenée (sometimes M.A. Guenée; 1 January 1809 – 30 December 1880) was a French lawyer and entomologist.
Biography
Achille Guenée was born in Chartres and died in Châteaudun.
He was educated in Chartres, where he showed a very ear ...
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
. The genus is currently placed in the
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 ...
Margaroniini, where it is closely related to the genera '' Agathodes'' and '' Liopasia''.
''Terastia'' with its eight species is distributed in the tropical regions of the
Neotropical
The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone.
Definition
In biogeogra ...
,
Afrotropical
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...
and
Oriental realm
The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia.
Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Ind ...
as well as
Australasia
Australasia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising Australia, New Zealand (overlapping with Polynesia), and sometimes including New Guinea and surrounding islands (overlapping with Melanesia). The term is used in a number of different context ...
.
Like the closely related genera ''Agathodes'' and ''Liopasia'', 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 ...
s of ''Terastia'' species feed on ''
Erythrina
''Erythrina'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, with the larger species growing up to in height. These species ...
'' species (
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomen ...
Terastia egialealis
''Terastia egialealis'' is a moth in the family Crambidae and subfamily Spilomelinae. The species was first described by Francis Walker (entomologist), Francis Walker in 1859. It is found in India, China, Nepal, Thailand, West Malaysia, Sumatra, ...