Plutellidae

Definition

A family of small moths in the order Lepidoptera, commonly called diamondback moths, comprising several hundred species worldwide. Adults are typically slender with narrow, fringed wings; larvae are leaf miners or external feeders on Brassicaceae and related plants. The family has undergone repeated taxonomic revision, with former subfamilies Praydinae and Scythropiinae elevated to separate families (Praydidae and Scythropiidae, respectively), leaving a more narrowly circumscribed Plutellidae centered on the subfamily Plutellinae.

Etymology

From the type genus Plutella + -idae (family suffix)

Example

Plutella xylostella (the diamondback moth), a globally distributed pest of cruciferous crops, is the most economically important species in Plutellidae.

Related Terms

• Lepidoptera
• Plutella
• Yponomeutidae
• Praydidae
• Scythropiidae
• leaf miner
• Brassicaceae

Usage Notes

Formerly treated as a broader family encompassing three subfamilies; current usage follows molecular and morphological revisions that split Praydinae and Scythropiinae into distinct families. Specialists now restrict Plutellidae primarily to the Plutellinae lineage. Not to be confused with the superficially similar Yponomeutidae (ermine moths), with which Plutellidae shares a historical common name.