Epipleminae

Epipleminae
Phazaca leucocera
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Geometroidea
Family:	Uraniidae
Subfamily:	Epipleminae
Genera
Dozens, see text

The Epipleminae or epiplemiine moths are a subfamily of the lepidopteran family Uraniidae. They are the most diverse and widespread uraniid group, occurring mainly throughout the Pantropics but barely reaching into the temperate regions. The Epipleminae are notable for the sexually dimorphic tympanal organ which is unlike any other butterfly's in details of its morphology. Some species are also peculiar in being able to rolling their wings into a stick-like shape, possibly as a form of crypsis. Such behavior has hitherto only been found in this subfamily and the quite unrelated Ennominae.(Sohn & Yen 2005)

Unlike the often colorful Uraniinae, they are smallish and drab species, and have earlier been erroneously placed with the Geometridae or Drepanidae based on phenetic considerations. Only 3 species have come to note as minor pests of commercial plants:

• Leucoplema dohertyi
• Epiplema fulvilinea – does not belong into this genus
• Dysaethria moza – formerly Epiplema

Genera

This list of genera is preliminary. A complete review of the subfamily seems hardly possible as a monographical work given its diversity, so it will probably be reviewed piecemeal (e.g. Sohn & Yen 2005). Several genera are known (Epiplema) or suspected (Monobolodes, Phazaca) not to be monophyletic, or may be altogether invalid (Sohn & Yen 2005).

References

• Sohn, Jae-Cheon & Yen, Shen-Horn (2005): A Taxonomic Revision of the Korean Epipleminae (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae), with Phylogenetic Comments on the Involved Genera. Zoological Studies 44(1): 44–70. PDF fulltext