Family PLUTELLIDAE

plutellidae

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Introduction

[After Edwards 1996: 53]
The concept of the Plutellidae used here is based on the work of Kyrki (1984, 1989, 1990). World species were listed in Lepidopterorum Catalogus by Meyrick (1914). The Australian fauna listed in the family follows Common (1990) and Nielsen & Common (1991). Most Australian species were described Meyrick (1907) and Turner (1923) and additional species by these authors and Lower in various papers.

At times the cabbage moth, Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), can be one of the commonest moths in Australia in a wide range of habitats. Several genera (Leuropterna Clarke and Orthenches Meyrick) are shared with New Zealand and Dugdale (1988) made pertinent comments on these. Several genera (Diathryptica Meyrick and Tritymba Lower) are endemic.

General References

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

Dugdale, J.S. 1988. Lepidoptera annotated catalogue, and keys to family-group taxa. Fauna of New Zealand 14: 1-262

Kyrki, J. 1984. The Yponomeutoidea: a reassessment of the superfamily and its suprageneric groups (Lepidoptera). Entomologica Scandinavica 15: 71-84

Kyrki, J. 1989. Reassessment of the genus Rhigognostis Zeller, with descriptions of two new and notes on further seven Palaearctic species (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). Entomologica Scandinavica 19: 437-453

Kyrki, J. 1990. Tentative reclassification of the holarctic Yponomeutoidea (Lepidoptera). Nota Lepidopterologica 13: 28-42

Meyrick, E. 1907. Descriptions of Australasian Micro-lepidoptera. XIX. Plutellidae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 32: 47-150

Meyrick, E. 1914. Hyponomeutidae, Plutellidae, Amphitheridae. Lepidopterorum Catalogus 19: 1-53

Nielsen, E.S. & Common, I.F.B. 1991. Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies). pp. 817-915, pls 7, 8 in CSIRO (ed.). The Insects of Australia. 2 vols. Carlton : Melbourne University Press xiii + vi + 1075 pp., 8 pls.

Turner, A.J. 1923. New Australian Microlepidoptera. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of South Australia 47: 165-194

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