Kingdom Animalia Family Mnesarchaeidae Rank Genus | Class Insecta Phylum Arthropoda Order Butterflies and moths | |
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Similar Neopseustidae, Acanthopteroctetidae, Heterobathmioidea, Exoporia | ||
Mnesarchaeoidea is a superfamily of "New Zealand primitive moths" containing one family, Mnesarchaeidae and a single genus, Mnesarchaea, endemic to New Zealand.
Contents
Taxonomy and systematics
Mnesarchaeoidea constitutes the living sister taxon to the superfamily Hepialoidea.
Morphology and identification
The mouthparts of the adult moths are functional, unlike Hepialoidea. About seven species are not yet described, and the group is under revision by Gibbs et al. (see also Gibbs, 1979; Dugdale, 1988).
Biology and behaviour
The moths are mostly day-flying. The larvae live in silken galleries among liverworts and soil detritus. See Kristensen (1999: 57-59) for more details.
Species
References
Mnesarchaea Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA