- Oinophila
-
Oinophila Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Tineidae Subfamily: Hieroxestinae Genus: Oinophila
Stephens, 1848Type species Gracillaria v-flava
Haworth, 1828Diversity At least 2 species (see text) Synonyms Oenophila Dunning & Pickard, 1859[verification needed] (unjustified emendation)
Oinophila is a small genus of the fungus moth family, Tineidae. Therein, it belongs to the subfamily Hieroxestinae.[1]
O. v-flava, often mis-spelled "-flavum", is commonly known as the Wine Moth. Its caterpillars borrow into moist cork – such as of wine bottles stored in a damp cellar – in search of the mould which they primarily eat.[2]
Species
Oinophila is only a minor lineage in a small subfamily, but the notoriety of the well-known Wine Moth made it quite well known. In the past, it was thus used as a sort of "wastebin taxon" for miscellanoues Hieroxestinae. Four species remain in the genus at present, but two of these do not actually seem to belong here – they might even be no Hieroxestinae:[3]
- Oinophila argyrospora Meyrick, 1931 (provisionally placed here)
- Oinophila nesiotes Walsingham, 1908
- Oinophila v-flava (Haworth, 1828)
- Oinophila xanthorrhabda Meyrick, 1915 (provisionally placed here)
See also
- Cork Moth (Nemapogon cloacella), another tineid moth occasionally feeding on cork of wine bottles.
Footnotes
References
- Bennett, Stuart M. (2003): Stored Product Insects – Oinophila v-flavum (Wine Moth) [sic]. Retrieved 2010-MAY-01.
- Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (2004): Butterflies and Moths of the World, Generic Names and their Type-species – Oinophila. Version of 2004-NOV-05. Retrieved 2010-MAY-01.
- Robinson, Gaden S. [2010]: Global Taxonomic Database of Tineidae (Lepidoptera). Retrieved 2010-MAY-01.
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