''Chedra'' is a

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 n ...

of tiny

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 ...

s, belonging to the

family 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. Idea ...

Batrachedridae.

Taxonomy

Ron Hodges created the genus in 1966 to accommodate three new species: two from North America and one from

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

. These he found very similar to the genus ''

Batrachedra ''Batrachedra'' is the largest genus in the moth family Batrachedridae, with representatives all over the world. The early stages of most species are unknown. The genus name is derived from the Greek words ''batrachos'', 'frog', and ''edra'', ' ...

'', but distinct on the basis of the adult males possessing a "single, strong, apical spine on the ampulla" (also known as the harpe), the females he distinguished from those of ''Batrachedra'' by the "presence of long apophyses" and the "absence of a signum and accessory pouches, and the

corpus bursae Corpus is Latin for "body". It may refer to: Linguistics * Text corpus, in linguistics, a large and structured set of texts * Speech corpus, in linguistics, a large set of speech audio files * Corpus linguistics, a branch of linguistics Music * ...

being poorly set off from the

ductus bursae In anatomy and physiology, a duct is a circumscribed channel leading from an exocrine gland or organ. Types of ducts Examples include: Duct system As ducts travel from the acinus which generates the fluid to the target, the ducts become larger ...

". At the time Hodges initially classified the genus in the family

Gelechioidea __NOTOC__ Gelechioidea (from the type genus '' Gelechia'', "keeping to the ground") is the superfamily of moths that contains the case-bearers, twirler moths, and relatives, also simply called curved-horn moths or gelechioid moths. It is a large ...

. Hodges designated as

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

'' Chedra pensor''.

Elwood Zimmerman Elwood Curtin Zimmerman (December 8, 1912 – June 18, 2004) was an American entomologist best known for his two multivolume series: ''Insects of Hawaii'' published by the University of Hawaii Press and ''Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curcul ...

included it in his subfamily Momphinae of the family

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 d ...

in his 1978 treatment of the

microlepidoptera Microlepidoptera (micromoths) is an artificial (i.e., unranked and not monophyletic) grouping of moth families, commonly known as the 'smaller moths' ( micro, Lepidoptera). These generally have wingspans of under 20 mm, and are thus harder ...

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 ...

. He expanded the genus be adding two more species, the first by moving a species from ''Batrachedra'' to ''Chedra'', the second upon discovery of a new species among the already collected specimens of the first species after closer examination of the

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

. Hodges included the genus in the family Batrachedridae in the 1978 ''The moths of America north of Mexico'', he included it in subfamily Batrachedrinae of the family

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 fou ...

in his 1983 ''Check List of the Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico'', but in 1999 he re-classified the genus in his newly re-described subfamily Batrachedrinae, with the same name as earlier, but now within the family Batrachedridae. The

Global Lepidoptera Names Index The Global Lepidoptera Names Index (LepIndex) is a searchable database maintained by the Department of Entomology at the Natural History Museum, London. It is based on card indices and scanned journals, nomenclatural catalogues and the '' Zoolo ...

of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more ...

classifies the genus in the family Coleophoridae, although references are not provided to substantiate this placement. Last updated by Alessandro Giusti - 6 July 2004

Etymology

The

etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

of the name for the genus ''Batrachedra'' is from two words, 'bactrach' is derived from ''batrachos'', a frog, and ''edra'', a seat (which refers to the particular resting position of the

imago In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the imaginal stage, the stage in which the insect attains maturity. It follows the fi ...

es). Hodges created the name ''Chedra'' as a derivative of that, but it means nothing, and is thus a "nonsense name" in the sense of

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 m ...

Species

It is unclear how many species exist of this genus, but the following have been named: *''

Chedra delector ''Chedra delector'' is a tiny moth placed in the family Batrachedridae. The Global Lepidoptera Names Index of the Natural History Museum in London classifies it in the family Coleophoridae based on the old classification given by Ron Hodges ...

'' Hodges, 1966 -

*''

Chedra fimbristyli ''Chedra fimbristyli'' is a moth in the family Batrachedridae. It was described by Wolfram Mey, in a paper published with Maria J. C. Ceniza in 1993. It is found on the Philippines. & , 1993: ''Chedra fimbristyli'' n. sp. ein minierender Kleinsc ...

'' Mey, 1993 - The

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

& , 1993: ''Chedra fimbristyli'' n. sp. ein minierender Kleinschmetterling an ''Fimbrystylis'' ssp (Cyperaceae) auf Leyte, Philippinen (Lepidoptera: Batrachedridae). ''Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift'' N.F. 40(1): 181-186. Abstract: *''

Chedra inquisitor ''Chedra inquisitor'' is a moth in the family Batrachedridae. It was described by Ronald W. Hodges Ronald William Hodges (August 7, 1934 – December 10, 2017), known as Ron, was an American entomologist and lepidopterist. Hodges was born ...

'' Hodges, 1966 - Eastern North America (type specimens were collected in central

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

) *'' Chedra microstigma'' (

Walsingham Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 251 – Norfo ...

, 1907) -

*''

Chedra mimica ''Chedra mimica'' is a tiny moth of the family Batrachedridae known from Hawaii. Taxonomy It was first collected by Robert Cyril Layton Perkins in the Waianae Mountains of Oahu together with '' Chedra microstigma'' in the beginning of the ...

'' Zimmerman, 1978 - Hawaii *'' Chedra pensor'' Hodges, 1966 -

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

, specimens have also recently been collected in Illinois

Ecology

In ''Chedra delector'' the caterpillars feed upon the seeds of

Cyperaceae The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large, with some 5,500 known species described in about 90 genera, the largest being the "true sedges" genus '' Carex'' ...

, those of ''C. fimbristyli'' mine within the leaves of a species of '' Fimbristylis'' in the family Cyperaceae, and those of ''C. microstigma'' have been found mining in the leaves of ''

Cyperus laevigatus ''Cyperus laevigatus'' is a species of sedge known by the common name smooth flatsedge. Distribution ''Cyperus laevigatus'' is grows in wet areas, especially in brackish water, wet alkaline soils, mineral-rich hot springs, and other moist saline ...

'' and '' Scirpus maritimus'', also plants of the family Cyperaceae.

Uses

''Chedra fimbristyli'' is a nuisance species in a minor traditional fibre plant locally used in the Philippines.

References

Batrachedridae {{Batrachedridae-stub