Urodidae
Encyclopedia
Urodidae or "false burnet moths" is a family of insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s in the 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...

n order, representing its own superfamily, Urodoidea, with three genera, one of which, Wockia, occurs in Europe.

Taxonomy and systematics

Urodidae were previously included in the superfamily Yponomeutoidea
Yponomeutoidea
Yponomeutoidea is a superfamily of Ermine moths and relatives.-Familiae:*Acrolepiidae*Bedelliidae*Glyphipterigidae*Heliodinidae*Lyonetiidae*Plutellidae*Yponomeutidae*Ypsolophidae- Etymology :...

 (Kyrki, 1984, 1988) and have also been lumped with Galacticidae
Galacticidae
Galacticidae is a recently recognised and enigmatic family of insects in the lepidopteran order. These moderate sized moths are 8-17 mm. in wingspan and have previously been embedded within several lepidopteran superfamilies , but Galacticidae is currently placed in its own superfamily at the base of...

 (Heppner, 1991, 1997) or with other Sesioidea
Sesioidea
Sesioidea is the superfamily currently containing clearwing moths , castniid moths and little bear moths . There is evidence from head and thoracic morphology that the first two families, internally feeding in plants as caterpillars, are sisters, whilst some brachodids are known to feed on leaf...

 (Heppner, 1998). They belong to the lower part of the lepidopteran clade
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...

 "Apoditrysia"http://tolweb.org/Apoditrysia (Dugdale et al., 1999) (i.e. not "Obtectomera"http://www.tolweb.org/Obtectomera), but their closest relatives are as yet unknown and it is hoped that DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....

 can help resolve this questionhttp://www.leptree.net/Urodus_sp.

Morphology and identification

Urodidae resemble some Zygaenidae
Zygaenidae
The Zygaenidae moths are a family of Lepidoptera. The majority of zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. There are about 1000 species. Various species are commonly known as Burnet or Forester moths, often qualified by the number of spots,...

: Procridinae at rest http://www.origins.tv/MothPhotographersGroup/Files/Live/RN/RN2415.jpg, These small to medium sized moths measure 11 to 37 mm in wingspan and often have a greyish or mottled forewing background colour. The male adult has a "hairpencil" on the costa
Glossary of Lepidopteran terms
This glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....

 of the hindwing. In the caterpillar, the placement of the setae and structure of the proleg
Glossary of Lepidopteran terms
This glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....

s is diagnostic, and the pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...

l segments I-II are fixed. On the head, there are no ocelli
Glossary of Lepidopteran terms
This glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....

 or "chaetosemata" and the proboscis
Glossary of Lepidopteran terms
This glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....

 even at the base is unscaled. An "epiphysis" is present on the foreleg
Glossary of Lepidopteran terms
This glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....

 (Dugdale et al. (1999), and for more details).

Distribution

The genera Urodus and Spiladarcha occur in the Neotropics whilst Wockia asperipunctella occurs in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and has recently been found in northern North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 (Heppner, 1997; Landry, 1998) and unless this is a recent invasion the species would be a good example of a Holarctic
Holarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...

 distribution pattern.

Biology and hostplants

The biology is poorly known, but the larvae can be found on various tree species including some fruit trees. The "Bumelia Webworm Moth" Urodus parvula is recorded on Lauraceae
Lauraceae
The Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 3500, perhaps as many as 4000, species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and South America...

: (avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...

=Persea
Persea
Persea is a genus of about 150 species of evergreen trees belonging to the laurel family, Lauraceae. The best-known member of the genus is the avocado, P. americana, widely cultivated in subtropical regions for its large, edible fruit.-Overview:...

), Fagaceae
Fagaceae
The family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...

 (Quercus), Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae is a family of flowering plants, belonging to order Ericales. The family includes approximately 800 species of evergreen trees and shrubs in approximately 65 genera . Distribution is pantropical....

 (Sideroxylon
Sideroxylon
Sideroxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Sapotaceae. There are about 70 species, collectively known as bully trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek words σιδηρος , meaning "iron", and ξύλον , meaning "wood."-Distribution:The genus is distributed mainly in the neotropics,...

) and Erythroxylaceae
Erythroxylaceae
The Erythroxylaceae is a family of flowering plants consisting of 4 genera and approximately 240 species. The best-known species is the coca plant , the source of the drug cocaine....

: Erythroxylum
Erythroxylum
Erythroxylum is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Erythroxylaceae. Many species contain the drug cocaine; Erythroxylum coca, a native of South America, is the main commercial source of cocaine and of the mild stimulant coca tea...

. Urodus parvula has also been reared on Rutaceae
Rutaceae
Rutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...

 (Citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

) and Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...

 (Hibiscus
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...

)http://internt.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/research-curation/projects/hostplants/list.dsml?searchPageURL=index.dsml&Familyqtype=starts+with&Family=Urodidae&PFamilyqtype=starts+with&PFamily=&Genusqtype=starts+with&Genus=&PGenusqtype=starts+with&PGenus=&Speciesqtype=starts+with&Species=&PSpeciesqtype=starts+with&PSpecies=&Country=&sort=Family. W. asperipunctella has in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 been reared from aspen
Aspen
Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

 Populus tremuloides (Landry, 1998) and also Salix in Europe. The pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...

 is contained in an open-mesh cocoon, which can be bright orange in colour, which is sometimes suspended on a very long thread below a leaf.

Sources


Provisional list of species (based on Lepindex)


External links

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