Prodoxidae
1477554
225980413
2008-07-16T08:55:47Z
FunkMonk
4280259
{{Taxobox
| name = Prodoxidae
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| image = Yucca Moth.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Yucca Moth
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| classis = [[Insect]]a
| superordo = [[Amphiesmenoptera]]
| ordo = [[Lepidoptera]]
| subordo = [[Glossata]]
| cohort = [[Myoglossata]]
| subcohort = [[Neolepidoptera]]
| infraordo = [[Heteroneura]]
| superfamilia = [[Incurvarioidea]]
| familia = '''Prodoxidae'''
| diversity = About 80 species
| diversity_link = Lepidopteran diversity
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genera (biology)|Genera]]
| subdivision =
''[[Prodoxoides]]''<br/>
''[[Lampronia]]''<br/>
''[[Tetragma]]''<br/>
''[[Greya]]''<br/>
''[[Mesepiola]]''<br/>
''[[Tegeticula]]''<br/>
''[[Parategeticula]]''<br/>
''[[Prodoxus]]''<br/>
''[[Agavenema]]''
}}
'''Prodoxidae''' is a family of primitive [[monotrysia]]n [[Lepidoptera]]. Some of these small-to-medium sized moths are day flying, like ''Lampronia capitella'', known to European gardeners as the "Currant Shoot Borer"[http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=1443]. Others occur in [[Africa]] and [[Asia]].''Tetragma gei'' feeds on Mountain Avens ''[[Geum]] triflorum'' in USA. ''Greya politella'' lay eggs in the flowers of [[Saxifragaceae]] there. The last five genera listed here are confined to dry areas of the United States. ''[[Prodoxoides asymmetra]]'' occurs in [[Chile]] and [[Argentina]] (Nielsen and Davis, 1985), but all other prodoxid moth genera have a northern distribution.
"Yucca Moths" have a remarkable biology. They are famous for an old and intimate relationship with [[Yucca]] plants and are their [[obligate]] [[pollinators]] as well as [[herbivores]] (Pellmyr et al., 1996). Interactions of these organisms range from [[obligate]] [[mutualism]] to [[commensalism]] to outright [[antagonism]]. Their bore holes are a common sight on trunks of such plants as the [[Soaptree yucca]]. Two of the three yucca moth genera in particular, ''Tegeticula'' and ''Parategeticula'', have an obligate pollination mutualism with yuccas. Yuccas are only pollinated by these moths, and the [[pollinator]] [[larva]]e feed exclusively on yucca [[seed]]s. Species of the third genus of yucca moths, ''Prodoxus'', are not engaged in the pollination mutualism, nor do the larvae feed on developing seeds. Their [[Egg (biology)|egg]]s are deposited in [[fruit]]s and leaves, where they eat and grow, not emerging until fully mature.
== References ==
*Davis, D.R. (1999). The Monotrysian Heteroneura. Ch. 6, pp. 65-90 in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.). ''Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies''. Volume 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Handbuch der Zoologie. Eine Naturgeschichte der Stämme des Tierreiches / Handbook of Zoology. A Natural History of the phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Band / Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta Teilband / Part 35: 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.
*Nielsen, E.S. and Davis, D.R. (1985). The first southern hemisphere prodoxid and the phylogeny of the Incurvarioidea (Lepidoptera). ''Systematic Entomology'', '''10''': 307-322.
*Pellmyr, O., Thompson, J.N., Brown, J. and Harrison, R.G. (1996). Evolution of pollination and mutualism in the yucca moth lineage. ''American Naturalist'', '''148''': 827-847.
* Pellmyr, O., J. N. Thompson, J. Brown, and R. G. Harrison. (1996). Evolution of pollination and mutualism in the yucca moth lineage. ''American Naturalist'' '''148''': 827–847.
* Powell, J. A. (1992). Interrelationships of yuccas and yucca moths. ''Trends in Ecology and Evolution'' '''7''': 10–15.
==External links==
*[http://tolweb.org/Prodoxidae Tree of Life Comprehensive overview of Yucca Moths]
*[http://ukmoths.org.uk/search.php?entry=Lampronia UK Moths ''Lampronia'']
*[http://www.tolweb.org/Tetragma_gei/12412 ''Tetragma gei'']
*[http://tolweb.org/Greya_politella ''Greya politella'']
*[http://www.tolweb.org/Agavenema_sp./12423 ''Agavenema'']
*[http://www.biology.vanderbilt.edu/BIO/ToLProdox/prodoxoides_asymmetra.html ''Prodoxoides asymmetra'']
{{Lepidoptera}}
{{wikispecies|Prodoxidae}}
[[Category:Moths]]
[[Category:Pollinators]]
{{moth-stub}}
[[de:Yuccamotten]]
[[es:Prodoxidae]]
[[lt:Serbentinės makštinės kandys]]
[[no:Knoppmøll]]
[[pt:Prodoxidae]]