Subfamily Glyphipteriginae - Sedge Moths

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Identification · Habitat · Food · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Diploschizia impigritella perhaps - Diploschizia impigritella

Gliphypterix sistes - Glyphipterix sistes

Yellow Nutsedge Moth - Diploschizia impigritella

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

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 Glyphipterigidae (Sedge and False Diamondback Moths)

Subfamily Glyphipteriginae (Sedge Moths)

Explanation of Names

Glyphipteriginae from the type genus Glyphipterix (Hübner), from Greek meaning "notched wing." (1)

Numbers

About 384 species in the world. About 42 species in 5 genera in North America.

Identification

Adult - forewing slender, variably light brown to dark gray or black, often with white or silvery crescent-shaped markings along costa and inner margin; proboscis without scales; ocelli large and prominent

Habitat

fields, meadows, marshes

adults fly during the day and can be found visiting flowers of herbaceous plants

Food

larvae bore in stems of sedges (Cyperaceae), rushes (Juncaceae), and grasses (Poaceae)

Print References

Heppner, John B. 1985. The Sedge moths of North America (Lepidoptera: Glyphipterigidae). Flora & Fauna handbook No. 1. Flora & Fauna Publ. Gainesville, Fla. 254 pp. (2)

Internet References

family info page including common name reference, adult image, description, larval and adult food, number of species (Gerald Fauske, North Dakota State U.)

pinned adult images of 6 species in 3 genera by Jim Vargo (Moth Photographers Group) - note that genus Schreckensteinia is placed in its own family (Schreckensteiniidae) at All-Leps

pinned adult images in 2 genera (All-Leps)

Works Cited

1.	An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names. Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.

2.	The Sedge Moths of North America (Lepidoptera: Glyphipterigidae) John B. Heppner. 1985. CRC Press.

Contributed by Charley Eiseman on 28 March, 2014 - 3:49pm
Additional contributions by Edward Ruden, Randy Hardy, Kyhl Austin
Last updated 6 February, 2022 - 9:27pm

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