Oecophoridae (concealer moths) is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of small

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

s in the superfamily

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

. The

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or Taxon, taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, M ...

and

systematics 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: phylogenetic trees, phylogenies). Phy ...

of gelechoid moths are still not fully resolved, and the

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: * Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthr ...

of the Oecophoridae is strongly affected by this.

Taxonomy and systematics

* Pleurotinae Toll, 1956 * Deuterogoniinae Spuler, 1910 * Unplaced ** '' Colchia'' Lvovsky, 1995 Also possibly included is the Peruvian species '' Auxotricha ochrogypsa'', described by

Edward Meyrick Edward Meyrick (25 November 1854 – 31 March 1938) was an English schoolmaster and amateur entomologist. He was an expert on microlepidoptera and some consider him one of the founders of modern microlepidoptera systematics. Life and work Ed ...

in 1931 as the sole member of its genus. In the past, the family was circumscribed more widely and included the following subfamilies: *

Amphisbatinae __NOTOC__ The Amphisbatinae was a small subfamily of moths in the superfamily Gelechioidea. Like their relatives therein, their exact relationships are not yet very well resolved. The present lineage is often included in the Depressariinae as a ...

(sometimes in Depressariinae) * Autostichinae * Depressariinae (including Cryptolechiinae) *

Hypertrophinae The Hypertrophinae are a subfamily of small moths in the family Depressariidae. The subfamily was described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1929. Taxonomy and systematics *''Acraephnes'' Turner, 1947 *''Allotropha'' Diakonoff, 1954 *''Callizyga' ...

* Metachandinae *

Oecophorinae __NOTOC__ The Oecophorinae are the nominate subfamily of moths in the concealer moth family (biology), family (Oecophoridae). They are part of the insufficiently studied Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea, and like their relatives, the Circu ...

(including Chimabachinae, Deuterogoniinae, Peleopodinae, Philobotinae) * Stathmopodinae * Stenomatinae Stathmopoda

Some treatments include only the Oecophorinae and Stathmopodinae here, placing the others elsewhere in the Gelechoidea (typically in the

Elachistidae The Elachistidae (grass-miner moths) are a family of small moths in the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea. Some authors lumpers and splitters, lump about 3,300 species in eight subfamilies here, but this arrangement almost certainly result ...

, but occasionally as independent

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

). But this approach might make Elachistidae highly

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

. Other authors go as far as to expand the Oecophoridae beyond the delimitation used here, including also such groups as the

Ethmiidae The Ethmiinae are a Family (biology), subfamily of small moths in the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea sometimes included in the Elachistidae or the Oecophoridae, but mostly in the Depressariidae as a subfamily Ethmiinae.Wikispecies (2009 ...

and

Xyloryctidae Xyloryctidae is a family of moths contained within the superfamily Gelechioidea described by Edward Meyrick in 1890. Most genera are found in the Indo-Australian region. While many of these moths are tiny, some members of the family grow to a wing ...

. The latter may indeed be part of a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

Oecophoridae, but more research is required; the Ethmiidae on the other hand are more likely a distinct family. The mysterious genus '' Aeolanthes'' is also sometimes included in the Oecophoridae (as a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

subfamily Aeolanthinae), but its actual relationships are quite obscure. Some additional genera are also treated as Oecophoridae ''

incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), 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, uncertainty ...

'' in recent studies: * '' Amseloecia'' Povolný, 1983 * '' Callimodes'' Leraut, 1989 (Oecophorinae?) ** subgenus '' Orienta'' Lvovsky, 1995 * '' Colchia'' Lvovsky, 1995 * '' Luquetia'' Leraut, 1991 (Depressariinae?) * '' Minetia'' Leraut, 1991 (Oecophorinae?) * '' Odonna'' Clarke, 1982 * '' Schiffermuellerina'' Leraut, 1989 (Oecophorinae?) ** '' Schiffermuellerina grandis'' (Desvignes, 1842) * '' Zizyphia'' Chrétien, 1908 (Oecophorinae? Formerly in

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 Taxonomic rank, superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy (biology), taxonomy ...

) * †'' Epiborkhausenites'' Skalski, 1973 ( Bartonian age,

Baltic amber Baltic amber or succinite is amber from the Baltic region, home of its largest known deposits. It was produced sometime during the Eocene epoch, but exactly when is controversial. It has been estimated that this forested region provided the re ...

, Lithuania)

Relationship with humans

Many concealer moths feed on dead plant material and are nutrient recyclers. On the other hand, the family includes the white-shouldered house moth (''Endrosis sarcitrella''), which is a widely distributed moth that has

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...

s that infest stored grain, and the brown house moth (''Hofmannophila pseudospretella''), which feeds on textiles and carpets as well as stored foodstuffs. Concealer moths have also been put to useful service. '' Agonopterix ulicetella'', a native of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, has been introduced to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in an attempt to control the European gorse (''Ulex europaeus''), and the defoliating hemlock moth (''Agonopterix alstroemeriana'') has been used against ''

Conium maculatum ''Conium maculatum'', commonly known as hemlock (British English) or poison hemlock (American English), is a highly poisonous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. It is Herbaceous plant, herbaceous, wi ...

'' poison hemlock in the United States.

Footnotes

References

* * Hodges, R.W. (1999): The Gelechioidea. ''In:'' Kristensen, N.P. (ed.): ''Handbuch der Zoologie/Handbook of Zoology'' (Volume IV – Arthropoda: Insecta. Part 35: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies 1): 131–158. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin & New York. * Savela, Markku (2003): Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and some other life forms &ndash
Oecophoridae
Version of 2003-DEC-29. Retrieved 2010-APR-22. *

Tree of Life Web Project The Tree of Life Web Project (ToL) is an Internet project providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth. This collaborative peer reviewed project began in 1995, and is written by biologists from around the world. The s ...

(ToL) (2008)
Oecophoridae
Version of 2008-MAY-01. Retrieved 2010-APR-22. {{Authority control Moth families