Almonia

Almonia is a genus of moths of the Crambidae family.

Classification

The Crambidae are the grass moth family of (butterflies and moths).^[1] They are quite variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass-stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly colored and patterned insects which rest in wing-spread attitudes.

In many classifications, the Crambidae have been treated as a subfamily of the Pyralidae or snout-moths. The principal difference is a structure in the ears called the praecinctorium, which joins two tympanic membranes in the Crambidae, and is absent from the Pyralidae. It would seem to be a matter of personal opinion (therefore not susceptible to definitive decision) whether this distinction merits division into two families, or whether the common presence of ventrally-located ears should unify them into one family. The latest review by Munroe & Solis, in Kristensen (1999) retains the Crambidae as a full family.^[2]

Species

• Almonia atratalis Rothschild, 1915
• Almonia truncatalis Walker, [1866]^[3]

Former species

• Almonia cristata (Hampson, 1891)
• Almonia lobipennis (Moore, 1886)

References