The Gelechiidae are a family 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 commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied

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, and the family's

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. ...

has been subject to considerable dispute. These are generally very small moths with narrow, fringed wings. The

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. ...

e of most species feed internally on various parts of their host

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae excl ...

s, sometimes causing

gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

(''Pseudotsuga'') is a host plant common to many

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 appropriat ...

of the family, particularly of the

genus 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 nom ...

Chionodes ''Chionodes'' is a genus of moths of the family Gelechiidae. It is distributed throughout much of the world. The larvae of many species use the Douglas fir as a host plant. Species *The formosella species-group **''Chionodes formosella''-complex ...

'', which as a result is more diverse in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

than usual for Gelechioidea. By the late 20th century, over 900 genera with altogether more than 4,500

were placed here, with about 650 genera known from North America alone. While these figures are certainly outdated, due to the many revisions to superfamily Gelechioidea and new descriptions of twirler moths, they still serve to show the enormous

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

contained in this important family. Being abundant,

fecund Fecundity is defined in two ways; in human demography, it is the potential for reproduction of a recorded population as opposed to a sole organism, while in population biology, it is considered similar to fertility, the natural capability to pr ...

plant-eaters, many species are

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

, including: * '' Anarsia lineatella'' – peach twig borer * '' Aproaerema modicella'' – groundnut leafminer * '' Keiferia lycopersicella'' – tomato pinworm * ''

Pectinophora gossypiella The pink bollworm (''Pectinophora gossypiella''; es, lagarta rosada) is an insect known for being a pest in cotton farming. The adult is a small, thin, gray moth with fringed wings. The larva is a dull white caterpillar with eight pairs of legs ...

'' – pink bollworm * '' Phthorimaea operculella'' – potato tuber moth, tobacco splitworm * ''

Sitotroga cerealella The Angoumois grain moth (''Sitotroga cerealella'') is a species of the Gelechiidae moth family, commonly referred to as the "rice grain moth". It is most abundant in the temperate or tropical climates of India, China, South Africa, Indonesia, ...

'' – angoumois grain moth * '' Tecia solanivora'' (Povolny, 1973) – Guatemalan potato moth, Central American potato tuber moth * '' Tuta absoluta'' – tomato leafminer, South American tomato moth The voracious habits of their

e make twirler moths suitable for

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also i ...

invasive plant An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

s. The spotted knapweed seedhead moth ('' Metzneria paucipunctella''), for example, is used to control

spotted knapweed ''Centaurea stoebe'', the spotted knapweed or panicled knapweed, is a species of ''Centaurea'' native to eastern Europe, although it has spread to North America, where it is considered an invasive species. It forms a tumbleweed, helping to increa ...

(''Centaurea maculosa'') in

Taxonomy and systematics

Compared to the other massively diverse Gelechioidea families –

Coleophoridae __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 foun ...

(case-bearers) and

Oecophoridae Oecophoridae (concealer moths) is a family of small moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. The phylogeny and systematics of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the circumscription of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this. ...

(concealer moths) – the

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 t ...

of the Gelechiidae are far less contentious. The "Deoclonidae", sometimes treated as a full gelechioid family, seem to be nothing other than a specialized offshoot from within the Gelechiidae, and are here included in the present family; some authors differ, however, and ally at least some of these genera with the Autostichinae and/or

Symmocidae The Symmocinae are a subfamily of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. These small moths are found mainly in the Palearctic and Africa. In modern treatments, they are usually united with the concealer moth family Autostichidae. History of cl ...

. On the other hand, the Schistonoeidae ( scavenger moths) are preliminarily considered a distinct family here. Of the subfamilies traditionally accepted for the Gelechiidae, only three were maintained for some time pending further information; at least one other, the Physoptilinae, were suggested to also be valid. But numerous genera of twirler moths – including most of the former "Deoclonidae" and also the proposed Physoptilinae – were of undetermined affiliation at that moment. Later studies, including a 2013 molecular analysis of the Gelechiidae, list the following subfamilies: Subfamily

Anacampsinae Anacampsinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Gelechiidae. Taxonomy and systematics *Anacampsini Bruand, 1850 **'' Anacampsis'' Curtis, 1827 **'' Aproaerema'' Durrant, 1897 **'' Battaristis'' Meyrick, 1914 **'' Chaliniastis'' Meyrick, 1904 ...

Bruand, 1850
Subfamily Anomologinae Meyrick, 1926
Subfamily Apatetrinae Meyrick, 1947
Subfamily

Dichomeridinae Dichomeridinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Gelechiidae. Distribution Almost worldwide, except the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Diversity The subfamily formerly included three tribes, about 29 genera and about 900 species. However, a ...

Hampson, 1918 (formerly including Chelariinae, which is now placed in Anacampsinae)
Subfamily

Gelechiinae Gelechiinae is a subfamily of moths in the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Henry Tibbats Stainton in 1854. Taxonomy The subfamily includes the following tribes and genera: *Litini Bruand, 1859 **'' Agnippe'' Chambers, 1872 **'' Altenia ...

Stainton, 1854
Subfamily Physoptilinae Meyrick, 1914
Subfamily Thiotrichinae Karsholt, Mutanen, Lee & Kaila, 2013 Genera ''

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, uncertain ...

'' *'' Aerotypia'' Walsingham, 1911. *'' Antithyra'' Meyrick, 1906. *'' Coniogyra'' Meyrick, 1921. *'' Dicranucha'' Janse, 1954 *'' Metopios'' Lucas, 1945 *'' Paraschema'' Povolný, 1990 *'' Pseudosymmoca'' Rebel, 1903 *'' Sphagiocrates'' Meyrick, 1925 *'' Stenoalata'' Omelko in Omelko & Omelko, 1998 *'' Syrmadaula'' Meyrick, 1918

References

External links

* *
Gelechiidae

- list of preliminary subfamily/tribe assignments
mapress

Bugguide.net. Family Gelechiidae - Twirler Moths
{{Taxonbar, from=Q778491 Moth families