Euclastini
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| Euclastini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Adult male of Euclasta vitralis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Crambidae |
| Subfamily: | Pyraustinae |
| Tribe: | Euclastini Popescu-Gorj & Constantinescu, 1977[1] |
Euclastini is a tribe of the subfamily Pyraustinae in the moth family Crambidae. The taxon was initially erected by Popescu-Gorj & Constantinescu in 1977 for the genus Euclasta.[2]
Adult Euclastini are moths with narrow wings folded over the body in resting position, with the front of the body raised up by long, slender legs while the tip of the abdomen is held close to the ground. In this, they resemble moths of the genus Lineodes. The tribe is characterised by a number of synapomorphies, particularly in the morphology of the genitalia. The male genitalia feature a bulbous uncus head bearing multisetose setae (in Euclasta) or simple and tune fork-shaped setae (in Afreuclasta); the valvae are trapezoid or elongate tongue-shaped and lack a fibula. In the female genitalia, a membranous appendix bursae is emerging from the anterior end of the ductus bursae, close to where it transitions into the corpus bursae; the sclerotised signum in the corpus bursae has the shape of puckered lips (in Euclasta) or of a rhomboid (in Afreuclasta).[1][3]
Life stages of Euclastini other than the adult stage are poorly studied, and information is published only for a few species, such as Euclasta whalleyi.[4]
Food plants
The caterpillars of Euclastini feed on plants of the Apocynaceae family.[2][5] This host specificity has been used for the control of rubber vine, Cryptostegia grandiflora, an invasive species of plant in Australia.[4]