Phycitinae, Zeller, 1839

Singh, Navneet, Ranjan, Rahul, Talukdar, Avishek, Joshi, Rahul, Kirti, Jagbir Singh, Chandra, Kailash & Mally, Richard, 2022, A catalogue of Indian Pyraloidea (Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 5197 (1), pp. 1-423 : 22-24

1.3. Phycitinae

Diversity and distribution: the by far most speciose subfamily of Pyralidae , and within Pyraloidea , second only to the more diverse Spilomelinae . Globally, Phycitinae comprise 3,501 species in 676 genera (Nuss et al. 2003 – 2022, Léger et al. 2020). In India, 235 species in 102 genera are reported, accounting to 6.68% of the total global Phycitinae diversity. Almost two thirds (65 genera) of the 102 genera in India are represented by only a single species, and another 33 genera contain between two to 10 species. The four most speciose Indian Phycitinae genera, comprise 11 to 18 species, respectively ( Fig. 10 ). The subfamily is distributed throughout the world with the exception of the southernmost regions ( Munroe & Solis 1999). In India, the subfamily is represented in most of the biogeographic zones with at least 34 species. The Desert, Trans-Himalaya, Islands and East Himalaya biogeographic zones have low species numbers ( Fig. 11 ).

Adult characters: ocelli are present or absent, chaetosemata are present. The labial palpi are well-developed and upturned, and sometimes feature a long downturned terminal palpomere. The maxillary palpi are mostly welldeveloped and variously shaped. The proboscis is mostly well-developed or reduced, and only rarely absent. The male antennae often have a contorted or swollen base. The forewings are mostly long and narrow, usually with a convex costa and a rounded apex, and with a greyish or brownish maculation. Forewing venation with 11 or fewer veins, where M is absent, M 2 stalked or united with M 3, areole absent. The pearl-coloured hindwings are usually broad and exhibit a cubital pecten. In both sexes fore- and hindwing are coupled via a single frenulum bristle. In the tympanal organs, the distal insertion of the scoloparium features a circular sclerotization. The venulae secundae are usually absent. The uncus arms of the male genitalia extend at 110 degrees or more from the longitudinal uncus axis. The tegumen connects to only a small portion of the uncus base. In the female genitalia, the ductus seminalis usually attaches to the corpus bursae and not to the ductus bursae as usual in other Pyralidae ( Heinrich 1956, Solis & Mitter 1992, Robinson et al. 1994, Munroe & Solis 1999, Holloway et al. 2001)

Larval characters: most larvae have the mesothoracic SD 1 seta encircled by a sclerotised ring ( Holloway et al. 2001, Solis 2006). A comprehensive study of European Phycitinae is provided by Hasenfuss (1960).

Food plants: larvae are stem, seed and gall borers or leaf rollers. The caterpillars of several tropical species, e. g. in Laetilia Ragonot , prey on scale insects. The subfamily comprises several cosmopolitan polyphagous pests of stored food products in the genera Cadra Walker , Ephestia Guenée , Etiella Zeller and Plodia Guenée. The Southeast Asian Citripestis sagittiferella (Moore) is a serious threat to citrus fruits. Some species have been used as biological control agents against invasive plants: Cactoblastis cactorum (Berg) was introduced to Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, the West Indies and Mauritius to control invasive Opuntia species. The alligator weed stem borer Macrorrhina endonephele (Hampson) has been introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand to fight the invasive alligator weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides (Amaranthaceae) ( Robinson et al. 1994, Munroe & Solis 1999, Holloway et al. 2001, Hayden & Landry 2020, Wells & Minteer 2021).

Figures

FIGURE 10. Species diversity of Indian Phycitinae genera.

FIGURE 11. Species diversity of Indian Phycitinae in different Biogeographic zones/zones.