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Twirler Moths
Gelechiidae
The Gelechiidae are a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the family's taxonomy has been subject to considerable dispute. These are generally very small moths with narrow, fringed wings. The larvae of most species feed internally on various parts of their host plants, sometimes causing galls. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) is a host plant common to many species of the family, particularly of the genus Chionodes, which as a result is more diverse in North America than usual for Gelechioidea.
By the late 20th century, over 900 genera with altogether more than 4,500 species were placed here, with about 650 genera known from North America alone. While these figures are certainly outdated, due to the many revisions to superfamily Gelechioidea and new descriptions of twirler moths, they still serve to show the enormous biodiversity contained in this important family.
60 branches of this family, most-observed first
Gelechiinae
subfamilyGelechiinae
Dichomeridinae
subfamilyDichomeridinae
Anomologinae
subfamilyAnomologinae
Anacampsinae
subfamilyAnacampsinae
Apatetrinae
subfamilyApatetrinae
Thiotrichinae
subfamilyThiotrichinae
Ardozyga
genusArdozyga
Kiwaia
genusKiwaia
Tricyanaula
genusTricyanaula
Orthoptila
genusOrthoptila
Chaliniastis
genusChaliniastis
Coconympha
genusCoconympha
Onebala
genusOnebala
Merimnetria
genusMerimnetria
Syringopais
genusSyringopais
Symbolistis
genusSymbolistis
Epiphthora
genusEpiphthora
Tornodoxa
genusTornodoxa
Streniastis
genusStreniastis
Ethmiopsis
genusEthmiopsis
Issikiopteryx
genusIssikiopteryx
Mometa
genusMometa
Parastega
genusParastega
Epimimastis
genusEpimimastis
Tritadelpha
genusTritadelpha
Sphaleractis
genusSphaleractis
Sarotorna
genusSarotorna
Aulidiotis
genusAulidiotis
Sitotrogoides
genusSitotrogoides
Iulota
genusIulota
Leptogeneia
genusLeptogeneia
Palintropa
genusPalintropa
Piskunovia
genusPiskunovia
Hemiarcha
genusHemiarcha
Thymosopha
genusThymosopha
Photodotis
genusPhotodotis
Lachnostola
genusLachnostola
Tanycyttara
genusTanycyttara
Hyodectis
genusHyodectis
Semophylax
genusSemophylax
Tabernillaia
genusTabernillaia
Sphagiocrates
genusSphagiocrates
Tahla
genusTahla
Lysipatha
genusLysipatha
Tildenia
genusTildenia
Neoschema
genusNeoschema
Telephila
genusTelephila
Physoptilinae
subfamilyPhysoptilinae
Isochasta
genusIsochasta
Holcophoroides
genusHolcophoroides
Protoparachronistis
genusProtoparachronistis
Haplovalva
genusHaplovalva
Metatactis
genusMetatactis
Paraselotis
genusParaselotis
Ptychovalva
genusPtychovalva
Phthoracma
genusPhthoracma
Lasiarchis
genusLasiarchis
Melitoxestis
genusMelitoxestis
Benguelasa
genusBenguelasa
Calliphylla
genusCalliphylla
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Gelechiidae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 55519.