Cyclotornidae

Taxobox
name = Cyclotornidae
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
subordo = Glossata
infraordo = Heteroneura
zoodivisio = Ditrysia
zoosectio = Cossina
zoosubsectio = Cossina
superfamilia = Cossoidea
series = Limacodiformes
familia = Cyclotornidae
genus = "Cyclotorna"
genus_authority = Meyrick, 1907
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Cyclotorna diplocentra"
et al.

"Cyclotorna" is a genus of moths, the sole one of family Cyclotornidae, with five recognized species. This family and the closely-related Epipyropidae are unique among the Lepidoptera in that the larvae are ectoparasites, the hosts in this case typically being leafhoppers, sometimes scale insects. The larvae of cyclotornids, however, leave the hemipteran host and become predatory on the brood in ant nests, apparently using chemical cues to induce the ants to carry the larvae into the ant nest.

References

*Dodd, F. P. 1912. Some remarkable ant-friend Lepidoptera. "Trans. Entomol. Soc. London" (1911):577-590.
* [http://www.ento.csiro.au/gallery/moths/Cyclotornidae CSIRO Gallery]