Urodidae or "false burnet 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
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
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 ...
n
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
. It is the type genus 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 ...
, Urodoidea, with three genera, one of which, ''Wockia'', occurs in Europe.
Taxonomy and systematics
Urodidae were previously included in the superfamily
Yponomeutoidea
Yponomeutoidea is a superfamily of ermine moths and relatives. There are about 1,800 species of Yponomeutoids worldwide, most of them known to come from temperate regions. This superfamily is one of the earliest groups to evolve external feeding ...
(Kyrki, 1984, 1988) and have also been lumped with
Galacticidae
Galacticidae is a recently recognised and enigmatic family of insects in the lepidopteran order. These moderate sized moths are 8–17 mm in wingspan and have previously been embedded within several lepidopteran superfamilies (Tineoidea: ...
(Heppner, 1991, 1997) or with other
Sesioidea
Sesioidea is the superfamily currently containing clearwing moths (Sesiidae
The Sesiidae or clearwing moths are a diurnal moth family in the order Lepidoptera known for their Batesian mimicry in both appearance and behaviour of various Hyme ...
(Heppner, 1998). They belong to the lower part of the lepidopteran
clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
"Apoditrysia" (Dugdale et al., 1999) (i.e. not "Obtectomer
, but their closest relatives are as yet unknown and it is hoped that
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...
can help resolve this question.
Urodidae was formerly the only family in the superfamily Urodoidea, but in 2020 a new family was described within Urodoidea,
Ustyurtiidae
''Ustyurtia'' is the sole 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 approx ...
.
Morphology and identification
Urodidae resemble some
Zygaenidae: Procridinae at rest. These small to medium-sized moths measure 11 to 37 mm in wingspan and often have a greyish or mottled forewing background colour. The male adult has a "
hairpencil
Hair-pencils and coremata are pheromone signaling structures present in lepidopteran males. Males use hair-pencils in courtship behaviors with females. The pheromones they excrete serve as both aphrodisiacs and tranquilizers to females as well as r ...
" on the
costa of the hindwing. In the caterpillar, the placement of the
setae
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
and structure of the
prolegs is diagnostic, and 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 ...
l segments I–II are fixed. On the head, there are no
ocelli or "chaetosemata" and the
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 ...
even at the base is un
scaled. An "epiphysis" is present on the
foreleg (Dugdale et al. (1999), and for more details).
Distribution
The genera ''Urodus'' and ''Spiladarcha'' occur in the
Neotropics while ''Wockia asperipunctella'' occurs in Europe and has recently been found in northern North America (Heppner, 1997; Landry, 1998) and unless this is a recent invasion the species would be a good example of a
Holarctic
The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region ...
distribution pattern.
Biology and host plants
![Urodidae pupa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Urodidae_pupa.jpg)
The biology is poorly known, but the larvae can be found on various tree species including some fruit trees. The "bumelia webworm moth" (''Urodus parvula'') is recorded on
Lauraceae
Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...
: (
avocado
The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...
=''
Persea
''Persea'' is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, ''P. americana'', widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.
O ...
''),
Fagaceae
The Fagaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with about 927 species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species occur as evergre ...
(''
Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
''),
Sapotaceae (''
Sideroxylon
''Sideroxylon'' is a genus of trees in the family Sapotaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753. They are collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος (''sideros''), meaning "iron", and ...
'') and
Erythroxylaceae:
Erythroxylum. ''Urodus parvula'' has also been reared on
Rutaceae (''
Citrus
''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
'') and
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
(''
Hibiscus''). ''W. asperipunctella'' has in North America been reared from
quaking aspen (''Populus tremuloides'') (Landry, 1998) and also ''
Salix'' in Europe. 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 ...
is contained in an open-mesh
cocoon, which can be bright orange in colour, and is sometimes suspended on a very long thread below a leaf.
Species
The following is a list of selected species:
*''
Geoesthia ceylonica''
Sohn, 2014 ype locality Sri Lanka*''
Spiladarcha capnodes''
(Walsingham, 1914) (originally in ''Anchimacheta'')
*''
Spiladarcha derelicta''
Meyrick, 1913 ype locality British Guiana*''
Spiladarcha iodes''
(Walsingham, 1914) (originally in ''Anchimacheta'')
*''
Spiladarcha tolmetes''
(Walsingham, 1914) (originally in ''Anchimacheta'')
*''
Urodus amphilocha''
Meyrick, 1923
*''
Urodus aphanoptis''
Meyrick, 1930
*''
Urodus aphrogama''
Meyrick, 1936
*''
Urodus auchmera''
Walsingham, 1914
*''
Urodus brachyanches''
Meyrick, 1931
*''
Urodus calligera''
Zeller, 1877
*''
Urodus carabopa''
Meyrick, 1925
*''
Urodus chiquita''
Busck, 1910
*''
Urodus chrysoconis''
Meyrick, 1932
*''
Urodus costaricae''
Busck, 1910
*''
Urodus cumulata''
Walsingham, 1914
*''
Urodus cyanombra''
Meyrick, 1913
*''
Urodus cyclopica''
Meyrick, 1930
*''
Urodus decens''
Meyrick, 1925
*''
Urodus distincta''
Strand, 1911
*''
Urodus favigera''
Meyrick, 1913
*''
Urodus fonteboae''
Strand, 1911
*''
Urodus forficulella''
(Walsingham, 1897) (originally in ''Paratiquadra'')
*''
Urodus fulminalis''
Meyrick, 1931
*''
Urodus fumosa''
(Zeller, 1863) (originally in ''Trichostibas'')
*''
Urodus hephaestiella''
(Zeller, 1877)
*''
Urodus hexacentris''
Meyrick, 1931
*''
Urodus imitans''
Felder, 1875
*''
Urodus imitata''
Druce, 1884
*''
Urodus iophlebia''
Zeller, 1877
*''
Urodus isoxesta''
Meyrick, 1932
*''
Urodus isthmiella''
Busck, 1910
*''?
Urodus lissopeda''
(Meyrick, 1932) (originally in ''Pygmocrates'')
*''
Urodus lithophaea''
Meyrick, 1913
*''
Urodus marantica''
Walsingham, 1914
*''
Urodus merida''
Strand, 1911
*''
Urodus mirella''
(Möschler, 1890) (originally in ''Pexicnemidia'')
*''
Urodus modesta''
Druce, 1884
*''
Urodus niphatma''
Meyrick, 1925
*''
Urodus opticosema''
Meyrick, 1930
*''
Urodus ovata''
Zeller, 1877
*''
Urodus pallidicostella''
Walsingham, 1897
*''
Urodus pamporphyra''
Meyrick, 1936
*''
Urodus parvula''
Edwards, 1881
*'' Urodus perischias'' Meyrick, 1925
*'' Urodus porphyrina'' Meyrick, 1932
*'' Urodus praetextata'' Meyrick, 1913
*'' Urodus procridias'' Meyrick, 1936
*'' Urodus pulvinata'' Meyrick, 1923
*'' Urodus sanctipaulensis'' Strand, 1911
*'' Urodus scythrochalca'' Meyrick, 1932
*'' Urodus sordidata'' Zeller, 1877
*'' Urodus spumescens'' Meyrick, 1925
*'' Urodus staphylina'' Meyrick, 1932
*'' Urodus subcaerulea'' Dognin, 1910
*'' Urodus sympiestis'' Meyrick, 1925
*'' Urodus tineiformis'' (Walker, 1856) (originally in ''Aperla'')
*'' Urodus transverseguttata'' Zeller, 1877
*'' Urodus triancycla'' Meyrick, 1931
*'' Urodus venatella'' Busck, 1910
*'' Urodus xiphura'' Meyrick, 1931
*''Wockia asperipunctella
''Wockia asperipunctella'' is a species of moth, belonging to the genus ''Wockia''.
It is native to Europe and Northern America
Northern America is the northernmost subregion of North America. The boundaries may be drawn slightly different ...
'' Bruand, 1850
References
*Heppner, J. (1991). Faunal regions and the diversity of Lepidoptera. ''Tropical Lepidoptera'', 2 (Suppl. 1): 1–85.
*Heppner, J. (1997). ''Wockia asperipunctella'' in North America (Lepidoptera: Urodidae: Galacticinae). ''Holarctic Lepidoptera'', 4(2)
*Heppner, J. (1998). Classification of Lepidoptera. Part 1. Introduction. ''Holarctic Lepidoptera'', 5 (Suppl. 1): 1–148.
*Kyrki, J. (1983). Adult abdominal sternum II in ditrysian tineoid superfamilies – morphology and phylogenetic significance (Lepidoptera). ''Annales Entomologia Fennica'', 49: 89–9
*Kyrki, J. (1988). The systematic position of ''Wockia'' Heinemann, 1870 and related genera (Lepidoptera: Ditrysia: Yponomeutidae auct.). ''Nota lepidopterologica'', 11: 45–69.
*Landry, J.-F. (1998). Additional Nearctic records of ''Wockia aspericpunctella'', with notes on its distribution and structural variation (Lepidoptera: Urodidae). ''Holarctic Lepidoptera'', 5(3): 9–13.
Sources
*''Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders'', edited by Christopher O'Toole, , 2002.
ernacular name*The systematic position of ''Wockia'' Heinemann, 1870, and related genera (Lepidoptera: Ditrysia: Yponomeutidae auct.). ''Nota lepidopterologica'', 11(1): 5
External links
Tree of LifeNHM Hosts DatabaseFauna Europaea Experts''Wockia asperipunctella'' from Lepidoptera of FinlandMoth Photographer's Group*
''Urodus parvula'' voucherBarcoding progressNuclear gene sequencing progress
{{Taxonbar, from=Q530151
Urodidae,
Moth families