Loading AI tools
Genus of moths From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Oinophila is a small genus of the fungus moth family, Tineidae. Therein, it belongs to the subfamily Hieroxestinae.[1]
Oinophila | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Oinophila nesiotes | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Tineidae |
Subfamily: | Hieroxestinae |
Genus: | Oinophila Stephens, 1848 |
Type species | |
Gracillaria v-flava Haworth, 1828 | |
Diversity | |
At least 2 species (see text) | |
Synonyms | |
Oenophila Dunning & Pickard, 1859[verification needed] (unjustified emendation) |
O. v-flava, often misspelled "-flavum", is commonly known as the wine moth. Its caterpillars borrow into moist cork – such as of wine bottles stored in a damp cellar – in search of the mould which they primarily eat.[2]
Oinophila is only a minor lineage in a small subfamily, but the notoriety of the well-known wine moth made it quite well known. In the past, it was thus used as a sort of "wastebin taxon" for miscellaneous Hieroxestinae. Four species remain in the genus at present, but two of these do not actually seem to belong here – they might not even be Hieroxestinae:[3]