Oecophoridae (concealer moths) is 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 small

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 ...

. The

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 ...

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 ...

of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle *Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...

of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this.

Taxonomy and systematics

* Pleurotinae Toll, 1956 * Deuterogoniinae Spuler, 1910 * Unplaced ** '' Colchia'' Lvovsky, 1995 Also possibly included is the Peruvian species '' Auxotricha ochrogypsa'', described by

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 micr ...

in 1931 as the sole member of its genus. In the past, the family was circumscribed more widely and included the following

subfamilies 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 ...

: *

Amphisbatinae __NOTOC__ The Amphisbatinae was a small subfamily of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Like their relatives therein, their exact relationships are not yet very well resolved. The present lineage is often included in the Depressariinae as a tr ...

(sometimes in Depressariinae) * Autostichinae *

Depressariinae __NOTOC__ The Depressariinae – sometimes spelled "Depressiinae" in error – are a subfamily of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Like their relatives therein, their exact relationships are not yet very well resolved. It has been c ...

(including Cryptolechiinae) *

Hypertrophinae The Hypertrophinae are a subfamily of small moths in the family Depressariidae. The subfamily was described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher (25 March 1878 – 30 April 1950) was an English entomologist. Although an ama ...

Metachandinae __NOTOC__ The Oecophorinae are the nominate subfamily of moths in the concealer moth family (Oecophoridae). They are part of the insufficiently studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and like their relatives, the circumscription of this taxon is disp ...

Oecophorinae __NOTOC__ The Oecophorinae are the nominate subfamily of moths in the concealer moth family (Oecophoridae). They are part of the insufficiently studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and like their relatives, the circumscription of this taxon is dis ...

(including Chimabachinae, Deuterogoniinae, Peleopodinae, Philobotinae) * Stathmopodinae * Stenomatinae Stathmopoda

Some treatments include only the Oecophorinae and Stathmopodinae here, placing the others elsewhere in the Gelechoidea (typically in the

Elachistidae The Elachistidae (grass-miner moths) are a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Some authors lump about 3,300 species in eight subfamilies here, but this arrangement almost certainly results in a massively paraphyletic and comp ...

, but occasionally as independent

families 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 maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

). But this approach might make Elachistidae highly

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

. Other authors go as far as to expand the Oecophoridae beyond the delimitation used here, including also such groups as the

Ethmiidae The Ethmiinae are a subfamily of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea sometimes included in the Elachistidae or the Oecophoridae, but mostly in the Depressariidae as a subfamily Ethmiinae.Wikispecies (2009-JUN-29), and see references in ...

and

Xyloryctidae Xyloryctidae is a family of moths contained within the superfamily Gelechioidea described by Edward Meyrick in 1890. Most genera are found in the Indo-Australian region. While many of these moths are tiny, some members of the family grow to a win ...

. The latter may indeed be part of a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

Oecophoridae, but more research is required; the Ethmiidae on the other hand are more likely a distinct family. The mysterious genus ''

Aeolanthes ''Aeolanthes'' is a genus of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Its relationships are enigmatic – many authors separate it in a monotypic subfamily Aeolanthinae, but there is disagreement over whether to place them in the Elachi ...

'' is also sometimes included in the Oecophoridae (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 "unispec ...

subfamily Aeolanthinae), but its actual relationships are quite obscure. Some additional genera are also treated as Oecophoridae ''

incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a 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 ...

'' in recent studies: * '' Amseloecia'' Povolný, 1983 * '' Callimodes'' Leraut, 1989 (Oecophorinae?) ** subgenus '' Orienta'' Lvovsky, 1995 * '' Colchia'' Lvovsky, 1995 * '' Luquetia'' Leraut, 1991 (Depressariinae?) * '' Minetia'' Leraut, 1991 (Oecophorinae?) * '' Odonna'' Clarke, 1982 * '' Schiffermuellerina'' Leraut, 1989 (Oecophorinae?) ** '' Schiffermuellerina grandis'' (Desvignes, 1842) * '' Zizyphia'' Chrétien, 1908 (Oecophorinae? Formerly in

Gelechiidae The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable dis ...

) * †'' Epiborkhausenites''

Skalski Skalski is a Polish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrzej W. Skalski (1938–1996), Polish entomologist * James Skalski (born 1998), American football player * Joe Skalski (born 1964), American baseball player * Mary Jane ...

, 1973 ( Bartonian age,

Baltic amber The Baltic region is home to the largest known deposit of amber, called Baltic amber or succinite. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that these forests created more than 1 ...

, Lithuania)

Relationship with humans

Many concealer moths feed on dead plant material and are nutrient recyclers. On the other hand, the family includes the white-shouldered house moth (''Endrosis sarcitrella''), which is a widely distributed moth that has

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 that infest stored grain, and the brown house moth (''Hofmannophila pseudospretella''), which feeds on textiles and carpets as well as stored foodstuffs. Concealer moths have also been put to useful service. '' Agonopterix ulicetella'', a native of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, has been introduced to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

in an attempt to

control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controllin ...

the

European gorse ''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are ...

(''Ulex europaeus''), and the defoliating hemlock moth (''Agonopterix alstroemeriana'') has been used against '' Conium maculatum'' poison hemlock in the United States.

Footnotes

References

* Hodges, R.W. (1999): The Gelechioidea. ''In:'' Kristensen, N.P. (ed.): ''Handbuch der Zoologie/Handbook of Zoology'' (Volume IV – Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 35: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies 1): 131–158. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin & New York. * Savela, Markku (2003): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash
Oecophoridae
Version of 2003-DEC-29. Retrieved 2010-APR-22. *

Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project is an Internet project providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth. This collaborative peer reviewed project began in 1995, and is written by biologists from around the world. The site h ...

(ToL) (2008)
Oecophoridae
Version of 2008-MAY-01. Retrieved 2010-APR-22. {{Taxonbar, from=Q782541 Moth families