Cecidosidae
Encyclopedia
Cecidosidae is a little known family of primitive monotrysia
n moths in the order Lepidoptera
which have a piercing ovipositor used for laying eggs in plant tissue in which they induce galls, or they mine in bark (Davis, 1999; Hoare and Dugdale, 2003). Nine species occur in southern Africa
, five species in South America
(Parra, 1998) and Xanadoses nielseni was recently described
from New Zealand
(Hoare and Dugdale, 2003). Some minute parasitoid
wasps are known (Burks et al., 2005).
Monotrysia
The Monotrysia is a group of insects in the Lepidopteran order which is not currently considered to be a natural group or clade. The group contains only moths and most of these are small and are relatively understudied in many regions of the world...
n moths in the order Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
which have a piercing ovipositor used for laying eggs in plant tissue in which they induce galls, or they mine in bark (Davis, 1999; Hoare and Dugdale, 2003). Nine species occur in southern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, five species in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
(Parra, 1998) and Xanadoses nielseni was recently described
Alpha taxonomy
Alpha taxonomy is the discipline concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms. This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated: such institutes include natural history museums, herbaria and...
from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
(Hoare and Dugdale, 2003). Some minute parasitoid
Parasitoid
A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host...
wasps are known (Burks et al., 2005).
External links
- Tree of Life
- Hayawani tree
- http://www.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/research-curation/projects/butmoth/GenusList3.dsml?searchPageURL=index.dsml&SUPERFAMIL=&FAMILYqtype=starts+with&FAMILY=cecidosidae&SUBFAMILYqtype=starts+with&SUBFAMILY=&TRIBEqtype=starts+with&TRIBE=&SUBTRIBEqtype=starts+with&SUBTRIBE=&GENUSqtype=starts+with&GENUS=&AUTHORqtype=starts+with&AUTHOR=&YEARqtype=equals&YEAR=&sort=GENUSAvailable generic names from Natural History Museum Lepidoptera genus database]