Blastobasidae

Definition

A family of small moths in the order Lepidoptera, superfamily Gelechioidea, comprising approximately 400 described species worldwide. Adults are typically drab-colored with narrow wings; larvae are often scavengers or detritivores, feeding on dried plant material, dead insects, or stored products, though some species are leaf miners or seed predators. The family's circumscription has been unstable historically, with some classifications treating it as the subfamily Blastobasinae within Coleophoridae (case-bearer moths) and occasionally merging Symmocidae into it.

Etymology

Example

The caterpillars of Blastobasis glandulella, the sweetpotato moth, feed on stored sweetpotatoes and other dried plant material, making it a minor pest of stored products.

Synonyms

• Blastobasinae (when treated as subfamily of Coleophoridae)

Related Terms

• Coleophoridae
• Gelechioidea
• Lepidoptera
• Symmocidae
• leaf miner
• stored product pest

Usage Notes

Family versus subfamily status remains taxonomically contentious; Blastobasidae is accepted as a distinct family in modern molecular phylogenies but may appear as Blastobasinae in older literature. The family's feeding ecology is unusually broad for gelechioid moths, spanning detritivory, scavenging, herbivory, and even predation on scale insects.