Coleophoridae

Pohl, Greg, Anweiler, Gary, Schmidt, Christian & Kondla, Norbert, 2010, An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Alberta, Canada, ZooKeys 38 (38), pp. 1-549 : 75

29. Coleophoridae – coleophorid moths

Minute to small (8–15 mm wingspan), narrow-winged moths. Most adults have lightcolored or metallic green wings ( Coleophorinae ), black and white patterned wings ( Momphinae ), or gray and black wings ( Blastobasinae ). Th ey are similar superficially to the Gracillariidae and Batrachedridae . Larvae have diverse feedings habits; many are casebearers and feed on leaves, flowers, and seeds ( Coleophorinae ); others feed on various plant parts or are scavengers. A few are opportunistic predators.

The family Coleophoridae includes several lineages that were recently considered to be separate families. Th e subfamily Coleophorinae comprises over 1000 described species, primarily in the genus Coleophora . Th e subfamily Momphinae comprises 60 described species, primarily in the genus Mompha . Th e subfamily Blastobasinae comprises 300 described species. All three of these subfamilies are particularly diverse in the Nearctic region, and all are in need of revision. Many new species remain to be described, particularly in the subfamily Coleophorinae . Hodges (1999a) reported that only 20%–25% of Nearctic species had been described. A fourth subfamily, the Pterolonchinae , comprises eight species, all from the Old World; one has been introduced to North America as a biological control agent of knapweed ( Centaurea spp.; Compositae). Two hundred and sixty-seven species of Coleophoridae are known in North America; 39 species are reported in AB. Few AB specimens have been examined in detail by experts, so the fauna is poorly known. Few recent taxonomic works exist for the Coleophoridae . Landry and Wright (1993) revised the metallic green Coleophora ; McDunnough (1958) and J.-F. Landry (1998a) provided many excellent illustrations of several Coleophora species. Adamski and Brown (1989) provided a higher-level systematic treatment of the Blastobasinae , and Adamski and Hodges (1996) published a nomenclature review and a checklist for the North American Blastobasinae .