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]]