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Genus Atteva

Atteva punctella Cramer 1782, Virginia - Atteva aurea

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Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Yponomeutoidea (Ermine Moths and kin)

Family Attevidae (Tropical Ermine Moths)

Genus Atteva

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Atteva Walker, 1854

Formerly placed in a separate family (Attevidae) by some authors; recent consensus of three taxonomists places the genus in the family Yponomeutidae (Butterflies & Moths of the World)

However: It has sometimes been considered a subfamily (Attevinae) of Yponomeutidae; recent analyses have restored it to a full family.

Explanation of Names

Origin unclear. Speculation: perhaps from Modern English (though obsolete, and dialectical) atter, that from Old English aettor poison, pus (1) (Wiktionary--atter), plus Greek suffix eu (or ev) good, well (2), with an adjectival ending -a. (English atter poison is not related to adder, the snake, incidentally.) This seems semi-plausible, given that the author of the genus was English.

Numbers

1 species in North America (3), Atteva aurea (formerly punctella)

the only species in this genus in North America listed at All-Leps. There may be a different species in southern Florida, Atteva floridana

Print References

Borror, entry for ev (2)

The Century Dictionary--entry for atter (and incidentally, adder) (1)

Works Cited

1.	The Century Dictionary: an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language

2.	Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.

3.	Nearctica: Nomina Insecta Nearctica

Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod
Last updated 8 July, 2016 - 2:16pm

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