The Pyraloidea (pyraloid moths or snout moths) are a

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 ...

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 ...

containing about 16,000 described

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 ...

worldwide, and probably at least as many more remain to be described. They are generally fairly small moths, and as such, they have been traditionally associated with the

paraphyletic In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...

Microlepidoptera. This superfamily used to contain the Hyblaeidae, Thyrididae, Alucitidae (plus Tineodidae), Pterophoridae, and Pyralidae. The first four families are now each split off as a distinct superfamily. Nowadays, Pyralidae are usually split into the Pyralidae

sensu stricto ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular c ...

and the Crambidae, as both groups have been shown to be

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 gr ...

and a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

. Some genera (e.g. '' Micronix'' and '' Tanaobela'') still defy easy classification and have been variously assigned to the Crambidae or the Pyralidae. Among all

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described speci ...

, pyraloids show the most diverse life history adaptations. The larvae of most species feed on living plants either internally or externally as leaf rollers, leaf webbers leaf miners, borers, root feeders, and seed feeders. Some species live parasitically in ant nests ( Wurthiini), prey on

scale insect Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than th ...

s (certain Phycitinae), or live in the nests of

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s ( Galleriinae). 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 the Acentropinae are adapted to life under water, and certain Phycitinae and Pyralinae are adapted to very dry environments and their larvae feed on stored food products. Others feed on animal

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts comm ...

such as

carrion Carrion () is the decaying flesh of dead animals, including human flesh. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

and

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a rela ...

. With such a variety of living habits, pyraloids are used in biodiversity studies. Some species are of economic importance, e.g.: * rice stem borers (''

Chilo Chilo may refer to: * Chilo of Sparta, one of the Seven Sages of Greece * Chilo, Ohio, a village in Clermont County, Ohio * Chilo, Bhutan * ''Chilo'' (moth), a genus of crambid moths * André Chilo (1898–1982), French rugby player * Chilo Rachal ...

'' spp.; '' Scirpophaga'' spp.) * sod grass webworms (different species of Crambinae) * Indian meal moth ('' Plodia interpunctella'') * European corn borer ('' Ostrinia nubilalis'') * Indo-Australian coconut spike moth ('' Tirathaba rufivena'') * Cacao moth (''

Ephestia elutella ''Ephestia elutella'', the cacao moth, tobacco moth or warehouse moth, is a small moth of the family Pyralidae. It is probably native to Europe, but has been transported widely, even to Australia. A subspecies is ''E. e. pterogrisella''. The ...

'') * Mediterranean flour moth ('' Ephestia kuehniella'') * wax moths ('' Achroia grisella'', '' Galleria mellonella'') * rice moth ('' Corcyra cephalonica'') * beet webworm ('' Spoladea recurvalis'') * European pepper moth ('' Duponchelia fovealis'') * legume pod borer ('' Maruca vitrata'') * eggplant fruit borers ('' Leucinodes'' spp.).

References

External links

Global Information System on Pyraloidea (GlobIZ)
*
Images of Pyraloid Moths in New Zealand
{{taxonbar, from=Q248419 Lepidoptera superfamilies Obtectomera