Mimallonidae (mimallonids), sometimes known as "sack-bearer" moths for the larval case-building behavior, are a family of Lepidoptera containing over 300 named species in 43 genera.[1][2][3] These moths are found only in the New World, with most taxa occurring in the Neotropics.[4] Adult moths are externally similar to those belonging to some of the other Macroheterocera families Bombycoidea and Drepanoidea, and thus have been variously treated as belonging to either one of these or other superfamilies.[4][5]
Distribution
Mimallonids are restricted to the New World, and are distributed in North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean (Cuba and The Bahamas).[2] The vast majority of genera and species are found in the tropical regions of the New World, with only five described species from the United States.[6][2]
Biology
Not much has been published on the natural history of adult Mimallonidae, though most species are thought to be nocturnal.[4] At least three species have diurnal males.[7][8] Young caterpillars live inside of folded leaves or beneath silken networks, and build portable or semi-portable cases out of silk, frass, and plant material as they grow.[4] The cases are open on either end and vary from irregular in structure to spindle-shaped.[4] The openings of the cases can be blocked by the head and/or the flattened anal plate of the last segment of the body.[4] The sack-like case-making behavior of the caterpillars have earned them the common name "sack-bearers".[9]
The current consensus, especially in works based on phylogenetic results, consider Mimallonidae to be the sole family of Mimallonoidea.[5][11][12] Other phylogenetic studies of all major Lepidoptera lineages support the placement of Mimallonidae as sister to all Macroheterocera, but within the broader clade Obtectomera.[11][12] This phylogenetic placement means that mimallonid moths are not more closely related to any one family of Lepidoptera, but are equally related (share a common ancestor with) all members of the extremely diverse clade Macroheterocera.[11] Morphological features, particularly of the larvae, support the uniqueness of this family and distinctness from Macroheterocera.[4][9]
The systematic relationships with Mimallonidae have been subject to two revisions, resulting in two different classification schemes. William Schaus revised the family and named most of the genera, he then separated the genera into two subfamilies: Lacosominae and Mimalloninae.[13] These subfamilies were based on the presence (Lacosominae) or the absence (Mimalloninae) of the frenulum.[13] It was later realized that this character varies within genera, and thus was deemed a sympleisiomorphy.[4][14] Using molecular phylogenetics, specifically with the technique of anchored hybrid enrichment, the family was reorganized based on the recognition and naming of robustly supported clades, which were further strengthened with morphological apomorphies.[1][5] The clades which were robustly supported across all analyses were assigned subfamily status, resulting in recognition of seven subfamilies in Mimallonidae.[1][5] Using both molecular and morphological phylogenetics, all 42 genera (including some newly described ones) were assigned to the named clades.[1][2][5] The 300+ species of the family, too, have been formally classified according to their phylogenetic arrangement.[2]
Recently, many of the species formally placed in the genus Cicinnus have been transferred to Gonogramma, making Gonogramma one of the most diverse mimallonid genera.[1]
Subfamilies, tribes, and genera
Below are the named clades of Mimallonidae, with their constituent genera assigned to their subfamily and tribe (wherever applicable).[2]
Mimallonidae have been reported as pests of some economically significant crops. In Surinam, Mimallo amilia has been noted as a pest of guava (Psidium gaujava).[15] In Brazil, M. amilia is a known pest of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus urophylla) and Psychocampa callipius a pest of cashew (Anacardium occidentale).[16][17]
In addition to some Mimallonidae species being regarded as pests, others have been considered as potential biological controls of invasive plants. Species belonging to the genus Druentica have been considered as potential control agents of Miconia calvescens (where it is invasive throughout the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii and Australia) and Clidemia hirta in Hawaii.[18][19][20]Aceclostria mus has been evaluated as a potential control agent of the Brazilian pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolius) in the United States.[21]
^St Laurent, Ryan A.; Becker, Vitor O. (2020). "A New Genus and Species of Mimalloninae (Lepidoptera: Mimallonidae), with Updated Distributional and Phenological Data for Tostallo albescens (Jones)". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 122 (1): 172–183. doi:10.4289/0013-8797.122.1.172. ISSN0013-8797. S2CID211228448.
^ abcdefghiLemaire, Claude; Minet, Joël (1998). "18. The Bombycoidea and their Relatives.". In Kristensen, Niels P. (ed.). Band 4: Arthropoda, 2 Hälfte: Insecta, Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies, Teilband/Part 35 Vol 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 322–353. ISBN978-3-11-080474-4.
^St Laurent, Ryan A; Carvalho, Ana Paula S. (2017). "Report of Diurnal Activity in Mimallonoidea with Notes on the Sexual Behavior of Lacosoma chiridota Grote, 1864". The Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 71 (1): 12–15. doi:10.18473/lepi.v71i1.a3. ISSN0024-0966. S2CID89990990.
^ abSchaus, William (1928). "Familie Mimallonidae". In Seitz, Adalbert (ed.). Die amerikanischen Spinner und Schwärmer, Bd 6: Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde. Stuttgart: A. Kernen. pp. 635–672.
^Pearson, H. R. (1951). "Contribuição ao conhecimento do gênero "Mimallo" Huebner, 1920 (Lepidoptera, Mimallonidae)". Revista Brasileira de Biologia. 11: 315–332.
^Van Dinther, J. B. M. (1960). "Insect pests of cultivated plants in surinam". Bulletin Agriculture Experimental Station Suriname. 76: 1–159.
^Mesquita, A. L. M.; Fancelli, M.; Sobrinho, R. B. (2010). "Importância, comportamento e sugestões de manejo da lagarta-saia-justa em cultivo orgânico de cajueiro-anão". Essentia. 11: 57–64.
^St Laurent, Ryan A.; Cock, Matthew J. W. (2017). "Annotated list of Mimallonidae (Lepidoptera, Mimallonoidea) from Trinidad and Tobago, with the description of a new species of Cicinnus Blanchard, 1852 and taxonomic notes". Zootaxa. 4268 (1): 053–070. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4268.1.3. PMID28610382. S2CID31124102.
^Nakahara, L. M.; Burkhart, R. M.; Funasaki, G. Y. (1992). "Review and status of biological control of Clidemia in Hawaii"(PDF). In Stone, C. P.; Smith, Clifford W.; Tunison, J. Timothy (eds.). Alien Plant Invasions in Native Ecosystems of Hawai'i: Management and Research. Honolulu: Cooperative National Park Resource Study Unit, University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 452–465. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
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