Family ALUCITIDAE

Alucitidae

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Introduction

[After Shaffer & Nielsen 1996]
Alucitidae were first reported from Australia by Meyrick (1886b) with his species Alucita phricodes, followed by 2 more species in 1890. Turner (1911, 1923b) added 3 more Australian species in 1890. Turner (1911, 1923b) added 3 more Australian species. The world fauna of the family consists of 200-300 described species. Further study of the Australian fauna will most likely reveal others awaiting description.

The family was defined as the Orneodidae by Herrich-Schäffer in 1843 for the genus Orneodes Latreille, 1796, type species Phalaena hexadactyla Linnaeus, 1758. However, hexadactyla Linnaeus was fixed by the ICZN in 1957 as the type species for the genus Alucita Linnaeus, 1758, a genus previously associated with the Pterophoridae. Leach (1814-1817) had originally described Alucitidae for the genus Alucita, so the usage of Alucitidae has taken precedence over Orneodidae.

Common (1990) gives the following foodplant records Australian species: Alucita phricodes on flower buds and flowers of Pandorea jasminoides and P. pandorana; A. pygaea on fruits of Canthium oleifolium.

The family exhibits a uniform appearance of split wings, each wing partitioned into 6 parts, and they are therefore commonly known as many-plumed moths. In some species from other faunal areas the splits affect only the terminal margins rather than most of the wing surface.

General References

Common, I.F.B. 1990. Moths of Australia. Carlton : Melbourne University Press vi+535 pp., 32 pls.

Leach, W.E. 1817. The zoological miscellany; being descriptions of new, or interesting animals. 3 vols. London : Nodder & Son 144 pp., 60 pls [1814-1817].

Meyrick, E. 1886. On the classification of the Pterophoridae. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1886: 1-21

Shaffer, M. & Nielsen, E.S. 1996. Alucitoidea. pp. 154-155 in Nielsen, E.S., Edwards, E.D. & Rangsi, T.V. (eds). Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Vol. 4 xiv 529 pp. & CD-ROM.

Turner, A.J. 1911. Studies in Australian Lepidoptera. Annals of the Queensland Museum 10: 59-135

Turner, A.J. 1923. New Australian Microlepidoptera. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 36: 51-81

History of changes