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A Key to the superfamilies of the Lepidoptera
with special reference to North and South Dakota
The character which
unites the Yponomeutoidea (difficult to see without a microscopic slide
preparation and secondarily lost in some groups) is the possession of pleural
lobes on abdominal segment 8.
Family Plutellidae,
Diamondback moths, have hws with Rs, M1,
M3, and CuA1 all
arising from the discal cell, the vertex has an erect vestiture and ocelli
are present. Worldwide there are about 100 species, 12 of which occur
in North America. |
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Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus), habitus (left),
head (right),
ocellus indicated by arrow. |
| Family Ypsolophidae
(including Ochsenheimeriidae) either have Rs and M1
of the hw stalked, or have an intercalary cell (anal loop) on the fw of at
least 1/3 of the wing length, the vertex has an erect vestiture and ocelli
are present. At least 130 species worldwide. Most of the 39
North American fall into the nominate genus Ypsolopha.
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Ypsolopha cf. dentiferella Walsingham |
Family
Acrolepiidae have ocelli, an erect vestiture on
the vertex and veins M3,
and CuA1 of the hw stalked. There are 95 species worldwide and 8 in North
America. |
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| Family Heliodinidae, Sun moths have
tufts of metallic fw scales, 5 post-apical veins arising from the fw discal cell,
ocelli, and a smooth scaled vertex. At least 16 genera and 70 species world wide with another 20 or
so additional mono-basic genera that have been assigned here by
various authors. Seven genera and 31 species are known from North
America. Heliodinidae also key out at couplet
9b.
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Lithariapteryx abromiaeella (Clemens) |
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Family
Glyphipterigidae, Sedge moths,
have large ocelli, a smooth scaled vertex, and the fws nearly always with
white crescents along costal and inner margins, in addition to the metallic
bands, fws have 6 post-apical veins. There are 384 species worldwide,
40 species in five genera in North America. |
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Diploschizia impigritella (Clemens) |
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Family
Yponomeutidae, (including
Argyrestheinae) Ermine moths, lack ocelli, most species possess a large
accessory cell on the fw. Worldwide there are about 600 species. In North
America the 82 species fall into 11 genera and four subfamilies
From left to right: Atteva punctella (Cramer) showing accessory cell and CuA2,
head of same, (note lack of ocelli), habitus of same, at far right: Yponomeuta multipunctella
Clemens
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Family: Lacturidae (Superfamily Zygaenoidea) will key here. Fws with evenly
arched costal margin, veins beyond discal cell lined with black. See
couplet 12a.
Note: two additional families of Yponomeutoidea that key to
other couplets are:
Lyonettidae- lanceolate to linear winged moths,
fw with a vein running to attenuated apex; ocelli absent, vertex with erect or
smooth scales. See couplet 9c.
Bedellidae- lanceolate winged moths, fw with a
vein above and below apex; ocelli absent, vertex with erect scales. See
couplet 9c.
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