Anerastiini Ragonot, 1885

Bidzilya, Oleksiy, Budashkin, Yuriy & Yepishin, Viktor, 2020, Review of the tribe Anerastiini (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae: Phycitinae) from Ukraine, Zootaxa 4718 (1), pp. 1-24 : 2-3

Tribe Anerastiini Ragonot, 1885

Anerastiini Ragonot, 1885: 23

= Peoriinae Hulst, 1890: 102 , 203

= Hypsotropinae Hampson, 1918: 55

Diagnosis. The Anerastiini are characterized by reduced or absent proboscis and bipartite gnathos in the male genitalia. While only these characters are present in all Anerastiini , the following derived characters are present in many Anerastiini , according to Horak (2003): 1) a distally partially flattened gnathos; 2) emargination of posterior margin of the female tergum VIII; 3) the ovipositor lobes laterally compressed, soft, enlarged, ventrally expanded with prolonged apex; 4) laterally or apically flattened gnathos tip; 5) larvae boring in grass stalks or feeding at the base of stems from silken tubes.

Labial palpus usually long, slender, porrect upcurved; maxillary palpus small and filiform or brush-like and contained in a hollow of the labial palpus; frons usually smooth, but sometimes with tufts of hairs or with projections of various shape; antenna in male varying from ciliated to pectinate, first segment often dilated, shaft often downcurved at base with a ridge of scales in its sinus; tibia with all spurs present; abdomen smoothly scaled; forewing narrow; hindwing with medial veins pectinate on upper side ( Hampson 1918: 55).

All known host plants of Anerastiini belong in the Poaceae , however, the biology for most species is unknown. Pupation usually takes place in the ground. The larvae of some species ( Polyocha depressella (Swinhoe, 1885) and Coenochroa ablutella ) are known as pests of sugar-cane ( Saccarum officinarum ) and Mais ( Zea mays ) ( Hampson 1918: 55; Arora 2000: 93).