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The Blastobasidae are a
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of
moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
s in the
superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...
Gelechioidea __NOTOC__ Gelechioidea (from the type genus ''Gelechia ''Gelechia'' is a genus of moths in the family Gelechiidae. The type species is '' Gelechia rhombella''. Species *Subgenus ''Gelechia'' **'' Gelechia asinella'' (Hubner, 1796) **'' Gel ...
. Its
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
can be found almost anywhere in the world, though in some places they are not native but introduced by humans. In some arrangements, these moths are included in the
case-bearer __NOTOC__ The Coleophoridae are a family of small moths, belonging to the huge superfamily Gelechioidea. Collectively known as case-bearers, casebearing moths or case moths, this family is represented on all continents, but the majority are found ...
family (Coleophoridae) as
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 subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Blastobasinae. The Symmocidae are sometimes included in the Blastobasidae (particularly if both are included in Coleophoridae) as subfamily or
tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
. In addition, the group around ''
Holcocera ''Holcocera'' is a gelechoid moth genus of the family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to m ...
'' is often separated as subfamily Holcocerinae (or tribe Holcocerini) from the ''
Blastobasis ''Blastobasis'' is the type genus of the gelechioid moth family (biology), family Blastobasidae; in some arrangements these are placed in the case-bearer family (Coleophoridae) as a subfamily. Within the Blastobasidae, the subfamily Blastobasinae ...
'' lineage (which correspondingly become a subfamily, or a tribe Blastobasini). While this seems far more reasonable than some of the more extreme arrangements sometimes seen in Gelechioidea
taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...
and
systematics Biological 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: cladograms, phylogenetic tre ...
, the relationships among Blastobasidae genera are not yet sufficiently studied to allow a well-supported subdivision of this family.


Description and ecology

The adults are generally small, slender moths which at a casual glance lack conspicuous and characteristic features – noted
entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854, in Ramsbury – 31 March 1938, at Thornhanger, Marlborough) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern m ...
once described the group as "obscure and dull-coloured moths, decidedly the least attractive family of
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
". Their coloration is usually reddish-brown, without crisp streaks or large wingspots. The head is smooth, with moderately long antennae (slightly more than half as long as the forewings) which are each situated halfway down the head. As usual for moths, the antennae do not have clubs; even in the males they are smooth or almost so and not at all comb-like. The antenna base bears a small brush of dense hairs and is flat, with a
concave Concave or concavity may refer to: Science and technology * Concave lens * Concave mirror Mathematics * Concave function, the negative of a convex function * Concave polygon, a polygon which is not convex * Concave set * The concavity In ca ...
underside and may cover part of the
compound eye A compound eye is a visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans. It may consist of thousands of ommatidia, which are tiny independent photoreception units that consist of a cornea, lens, and photoreceptor cells which disti ...
s. The Blastobasidae have few or no bristles on the compound eyes, no
ocelli A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...
, and probably lack
chaetosemata This glossary of entomology describes terms used in the formal study of insect species by entomologists. A–C A synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticide, toxic to vertebrates. Though i ...
too. The mouthparts are well-developed and moderately specialized, with 4-segmented folding
maxillary palp Maxillary means "related to the maxilla (upper jaw bone)". Terms containing "maxillary" include: *Maxillary artery *Maxillary nerve *Maxillary prominence *Maxillary sinus The pyramid-shaped maxillary sinus (or antrum of Highmore) is the large ...
s, long
labial palp The term ''labial'' originates from '' Labium'' (Latin for "lip"), and is the adjective that describes anything of or related to lips, such as lip-like structures. Thus, it may refer to: * the lips ** In linguistics, a labial consonant ** In zoolog ...
s and a long
proboscis A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
with a scaly base. The
tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
e of the forelegs are enlarged at the end, those of the middle legs two spurs, and those of the hindlegs 4 spurs and many long thin hairs.
Wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
in this family is about 12 to 24 mm, more than 10 times as much as the
thorax The thorax or chest is a part of the anatomy of humans, mammals, and other tetrapod animals located between the neck and the abdomen. In insects, crustaceans, and the extinct trilobites, the thorax is one of the three main divisions of the cre ...
width. The forewings lack a tornus and are about 4-5 times as long as they are wide, with a convex outer margin and a rather blunt tip. The round-tipped hindwings are very narrow, of equal or somewhat less length as the forewings, to which they are joined with a
frenulum A frenulum (or frenum, plural: frenula or frena, from the Latin ''frēnulum'', "little bridle", the diminutive of ''frēnum'') is a small fold of tissue that secures the motion of a mobile organ in the body. In human anatomy Frenula on the h ...
. The edge of the hindwings is surrounded by a fringe of hairs about two times as long as the wing is wide. The
wing venation Insect wings are adult outgrowths of the insect exoskeleton that enable insects to flight, fly. They are found on the second and third Thorax (insect anatomy), thoracic segments (the mesothorax and metathorax), and the two pairs are often referre ...
of forewings and hindwings differs. The forewing has 12 veins altogether, with two anal veins – vein 1b and 1c, the former of which forks
proximal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
ly – and a
distal Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...
ly complete tubular vein (1c). The transverse vein is complete, and the discal cell has no tubular vein running through its middle. By contrast, the hindwings have seven or eight veins. Their anal veins are 1b and 1c like on the forewings; they lack vein 1a but also have the tubular vein 1c. Vein 1b may fork as in the forewings or remain unbranched, while a transverse vein may be present or not. Usually, five veins arise from the hindwing cell, of which the fourth and fifth are proximally joined; ''
Blastobasis ''Blastobasis'' is the type genus of the gelechioid moth family (biology), family Blastobasidae; in some arrangements these are placed in the case-bearer family (Coleophoridae) as a subfamily. Within the Blastobasidae, the subfamily Blastobasinae ...
'', however, might only have four cell veins, with veins 3 and 5 joined and vein 4 missing, but this is not universally accepted. Hindwing vein 8 either runs along the upper cell margin initially and
anastomose An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection may be normal ...
s with it, or possibly it arises from the cell margin in some species, but in neither case does it run close to vein 7. 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 Sym ...
s (
larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...
e) have 10
proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...
s and feed openly, usually on dead organic matter. Some species are pests of stored foodstuffs. The
pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
e are concealed and are not protruded during hatching.


Genera

Most of the roughly 30
genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
of the Blastobasidae presently recognized are small or even
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 "unispec ...
, though '' Auximobasis'' and '' Pigritia'' are fairly diverse and ''
Blastobasis ''Blastobasis'' is the type genus of the gelechioid moth family (biology), family Blastobasidae; in some arrangements these are placed in the case-bearer family (Coleophoridae) as a subfamily. Within the Blastobasidae, the subfamily Blastobasinae ...
'' and ''
Holcocera ''Holcocera'' is a gelechoid moth genus of the family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to m ...
'' are quite large. Such an arrangement is suspicious of not representing the true
phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...
of the family adequately; with few species having been compared in sufficient detail in recent times, it is to be expected that as better data become available, the two large genera will be split, and/or several small genera will not be maintained as distinct. Thus, the following list is likely to change in the future: *Blastobasinae Walsingham, 1894 **Tribe Blastobasini ***'' Auximobasis'' ***''
Blastobasis ''Blastobasis'' is the type genus of the gelechioid moth family (biology), family Blastobasidae; in some arrangements these are placed in the case-bearer family (Coleophoridae) as a subfamily. Within the Blastobasidae, the subfamily Blastobasinae ...
'' ***''
Mastema Mastema ( he, מַשְׂטֵמָה ''Mastēmā''; gez, መሰቴማ ''Mesetēma''), or Mansemat, is the fallen archangel who appears in the Book of Jubilees. He pleads with God to permit the demon spirits of the dead Nephilim remain on earth so ...
'' ***'' Neoblastobasis'' ***''
Zenodochium ''Zenodochium'' is a genus of moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximat ...
'' (sometimes in ''Blastobasis'') **Tribe Pigritiini Dietz, 1910 ***'' Pigritia'' **Unplaced to tribe ***'' Barbaloba'' ***'' Coniogenes'' ***'' Critoxena'' ***'' Docostoma'' ***'' Exinotis'' ***'' Hallicis'' ***'' Heredia'' ***''" Holcoceroides"'' Sinev, 1986 (''non'' Strand, 1913:
preoccupied The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linn ...
)
***'' Iconisma'' ***'' Inbioxa'' ***'' Koleps'' ***'' Lateantenna'' ***'' Metallocrates'' ***'' Pheos'' ***'' Prosintis'' ***'' Pseudokoleps'' ***'' Sirindhorn'' ***'' Syncola'' ***'' Xenopathia'' *Holcocerinae Adamski, 1989 ** '' Asaphocrita'' ** '' Calosima'' ** ''
Holcocera ''Holcocera'' is a gelechoid moth genus of the family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to m ...
'' ** '' Hypatopa'' (sometimes in ''Holcocera'') ** '' Pseudohypatopa'' ** '' Tecmerium''


References


External links

* See also Gelechioidea Talk page for comparison of some approaches to gelechioid systematics and taxonomy. * Savela, Markku (2001): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms
Blastobasidae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q782744 Moth families Taxa named by Edward Meyrick