ThePyraloidea (pyraloid moths orsnout moths) are amothsuperfamily containing about 16,000 describedspecies worldwide, and probably at least as many more remain to be described.[2] They are generally fairly small moths, and as such, they have been traditionally associated with theparaphyleticMicrolepidoptera.
Some genera (e.g.Micronix andTanaobela) still defy easy classification and have been variously assigned to the Crambidae or the Pyralidae.
Among allLepidoptera, pyraloids show the most diverse life history adaptations. The larvae of most species feed on living plants either internally or externally as leaf rollers, leaf webbers leaf miners, borers, root feeders, and seed feeders. Some species live parasitically inant nests (Wurthiini), prey onscale insects (certainPhycitinae), or live in the nests ofbees (Galleriinae). Thelarvae of theAcentropinae are adapted to life under water, and certainPhycitinae andPyralinae are adapted to very dry environments and their larvae feed on stored food products. Others feed on animaldetritus such ascarrion andfeces.
With such a variety of living habits, pyraloids are used in biodiversity studies.[5] Some species are of economic importance, e.g.:
^Nuss, Matthias; Landry, Bernard; Mally, Richard; Vegliante, Francesca; Tränkner, Andreas; Bauer, Franziska; Hayden, James; Segerer, Andreas; Schouten, Rob; Li, Houhun; Trofimova, Tatiana;Solis, M. Alma; De Prins, Jurate; Speidel, Wolfgang (2003–2020)."Global Information System on Pyraloidea (GlobIZ)".www.pyraloidea.org. Retrieved2020-02-21.
^Munroe, Eugene G.;Solis, Maria Alma (1998). "The Pyraloidea". In Kristensen, Niels Peder (ed.).Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, systematics, and biogeography. Handbook of Zoology. Insecta, Part, Volume IV Arthropoda 35. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 233–256.
