''Phormoestes'' 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 approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s in the family

choreutidae Choreutidae, or metalmark moths, are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order whose relationships have been long disputed. It was placed previously in the superfamily Yponomeutoidea in family Glyphipterigidae and in superfamily Sesioide ...

(sub-family

Millieriidae Millieriidae is a small family of moths in the lepidopteran order. It was described as by Henry Tibbats Stainton in 1854 as a subfamily of Choreutidae. References * 1982Millieriinae, a new subfamily of Choreutidae, with new taxa from Chile and ...

), containing only one species, ''Phormoestes palmettovora'', which is known from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States. This genus exhibits distinctive morphology, which sets it apart from other genera within the family, such as '' Milleria.''

Etymology

''Phormoestes'' is derived from Greek, where 'phormo-' means 'basket' and '-estes' means dweller. The name refers to the pupal stage of the species, which resembles a basket.

Description

Head

The head region features a smooth vertex and

frons Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insec ...

. On the mouth part, the basal and middle segments of the smooth-scaled labial palpus are subequal, but the apical segment is shorter. The haustellum (base of tongue) is scaled and its maxillary palpus may have a singular or a pair of segments, each with a broad base and rounded ends. Medium-sized eyes are present with a third simple eye ( ocellus) and large pilifier. The antennae are flat and covered with dense hair including a tentorial bridge, a structure supporting openings near joints.

Forewing

''Phormoestes'' moths are small; their forewing length ranges from 3.2- 4.0 mm. Their forewings conformation is somewhat pointed at the apex, rounded tornal and anal margins.

Hindwing

Hindwings are subtriangular with a rounded but slightly truncate anal margin and a somewhat pointed apex.

Abdomen

The abdomen is normal, coremata (inflatable sacs at apex) are absent.

Male Genitalia

In males, the abdominal segments tegumen (dorsal) and vinculum (ventral) are fused together.Scoble (1995). Section ''Adult abdomen'', (pp 98 to 102). They support a small, articulated structure called saccus, along with a sclerotized (hardened)

uncus The uncus is an anterior extremity of the parahippocampal gyrus. It is separated from the apex of the temporal lobe by a slight fissure called the incisura temporalis (also called rhinal sulcus). Although superficially continuous with the hipp ...

is present, which helps in clasping female during copulation. The socius is absent. Support structures include gnathos, a hardened point with strong side extensions, and the anellus, a round and curved ring- like structure without side extensions. The valvae, which are lateral clasping organs, are simple. The inseminating organ,

aedeagus An aedeagus (plural aedeagi) is a reproductive organ of male arthropods through which they secrete sperm from the testes during copulation with a female. It can be thought of as the insect equivalent of a mammal's penis, though the comparison ...

, is small and slender with absence of cornutus (which also plays key role in transferring spermatophores).Rota, J. (2008). ''Systematics, morphology, and behavior of metalmark moths (Lepidoptera: Choreutidae)''. University of Connecticut.

Female genitalia

The genitalia constitute of a normal

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

, and setaceous papilla analis, the sensory structures near the hind orifice. Sterigma is absent in apophyses and ostium, which provide attachment and support during copulation and egg-laying. The ductus bursae, a tube where sperm is released from capsule, is membranous. The spermatophore receptacle of female, corpus bursae, lacks the sperm-storage sac called signum.

Larval Morphology and Traits

The larva has a hypognathos head, with the frontoclypeus extending halfway upto the epicranial notch. Prolegs are equipped with hooks and spines in biordinal orientation. The simple eyes, stemmata, are arranged in a rectangular semi-circle, and serve basic light detection purposes. The first segment of the thorax, the prothorax, bears sclerotized dorsal plates, which aid in its structure. Various thoracic and abdominal segments exhibit different setae arrangements and pinacula formations.

Pupal Morphology and Traits

The larvae feed on '' Sabal palmetto''. They have been found boring within the minute flower pods of the

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

of the host plant. After sufficient feeding, pupation takes place in a hollow flower pod with a flap-like opening attached to host leaf. The pupa has blunt projection on the head front, prominent maxillary palpi and free legs at the wing tips. Dorsal abdomen spines are arranged bilinearly. It appears that larvae or pupae overwinter in the pupal case and adults of the first generation emerge the following March, when the palms are again producing inflorescences.

References

Millieriidae Monotypic moth genera {{moth-stub