Wing-venation
Guides
Acropteris
Acropteris is a genus of moths in the family Uraniidae, established by Carl Geyer in 1832. Its described species occur across tropical parts of Asia, Africa, and Australia. The genus is recognized by a combination of head, antenna, and wing characters, including vein patterns that differ between sexes. At least one species, A. iphiata, has been the subject of mitochondrial-genome research.
Allorapisma
Allorapisma is an extinct genus of moth lacewings (Ithonidae) known from the Early Eocene of Washington, North America. The genus contains one named species, A. chuorum. Its fossils are incomplete forewings, whose vein pattern was compared with that of the Cretaceous genus Principiala. The preserved wing portions are about 16 mm long.
Anawrahta
Anawrahta Mey, 2024 is an extinct moth genus in Acanthopteroctetidae, known from a single male preserved in Myanmar amber. The fossil is minute, with a forewing about 2 mm long. Its family placement is tentative and rests on wing-vein and leg-spur characters, while its male genitalia differ markedly from those of living members of the family.
Ancylolomia
Ancylolomia is a genus of crambid moths established by Jacob Hübner in 1825. Its recorded occurrences span parts of Europe and East Asia as well as southern Africa, although records do not define the genus’s complete range. The moths have long, narrow forewings, and identification relies on detailed structures of the palps and wing veins.
Anisopodinae
Anisopodinae is a subfamily of wood gnats within the family Anisopodidae (Diptera). These small flies are characterized by their humpbacked thorax and distinctive wing venation with a reduced anal lobe. The subfamily includes the genus Anisopus, whose members are associated with decaying wood and fungal habitats. Adults are frequently observed running on vegetation rather than flying.
Anomalempis
Anomalempis is a genus of dance flies in the family Brachystomatidae. GBIF currently lists three named species: two described from western North America and A. yakutia from Yakutia, Russia. A published genus-level distinction from the similar genus Brachystoma is the simple, unbranched R4+5 wing vein; Brachystoma has this vein forked. The Yakutian species extended the known range of Anomalempis into the Palaearctic.
Apisa
Apisa Walker, 1855 is an accepted genus of erebid moths in Arctiinae. Recent taxonomic treatments identify species through morphology: wing shape and venation are useful, and male genital structures distinguish some species. Recent papers document species in Uganda and Gabon and in Cameroon and Nigeria; those records are examples, not a complete range map.
Arrade
Arrade is a genus of erebid moths described by Francis Walker in 1863. GBIF currently lists 16 accepted species in the genus. Its catalogued occurrence records span Australia and several Asian localities, with additional records from Angola; these are records rather than a complete native-range map. The available generic description emphasizes narrow, pointed forewings and a conspicuous tuft of scales on the inner margin.
Asaphodes
Asaphodes is an accepted genus of geometrid moths described by Edward Meyrick in 1885. The genus is endemic to New Zealand, with species recorded on the North and South Islands and Stewart Island/Rakiura. Its members are separated from related genera using detailed structural characters, including features of the wings and genitalia. The genus-level diagnosis is technical rather than a simple field mark, so reliable identification may require specialist examination.
Aslauga
Aslauga is a genus of lycaenid butterflies, accepted by both GBIF and iNaturalist. GBIF records many named species in the genus, although its child list also includes unranked barcode entities. The genus is reported from the Afrotropical realm, with forest habitats described in the Congolian and Lower Guinean regions. Descriptions characterize the butterflies as small and usually grey-blue or grey-purple; the original generic description emphasizes a distinctive wing outline.
Aspilapteryx
Aspilapteryx is a genus of small moths in the family Gracillariidae. Taxonomic catalogues list at least 11 named species, although species limits and placements have changed in revisions. The genus is recognized using wing venation together with characters of the forewing pattern and genital structures, rather than a single general color pattern. A 1985 revision records the subgenus Aspilapteryx from Europe to Central Asia and notes a South African species whose distribution was then poorly known.
Athis
Athis is a genus of diurnal (day-flying) moths in Castniidae and is described as the most diverse diurnal castniid genus. Its documented range is in the Americas. Research on two Mexican species shows how wing shape, wing venation, and male genitalia can inform species-level study; field observations recorded those two species flying several metres above the ground. Biology and distribution remain poorly documented for many Athis species.
Athrypsiastis
Athrypsiastis is a genus of moths in the family Xyloryctidae. A 2025 revision treated eight species and characterized the genus by a combination of wing-vein and male-genital features. It is known from Sulawesi eastward to Rossel Island in the New Guinea archipelago, on the eastern side of the Wallace Line. Natural-history information for the genus remains sparse in the revision.
Baniana
Baniana is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae, established by Walker in 1858. The genus was previously placed in the subfamily Calpinae of the family Noctuidae before taxonomic reclassification. It contains approximately 50 described species distributed primarily in the Neotropics. The genus is characterized by distinctive wing venation and palp structure.
Bialba
Bialba is a drosophilid fly genus described in 1989. The GBIF Backbone currently lists one accepted species, Bialba rotunda, so the genus is represented here by a single named species. The original description placed B. rotunda at Mt Tozer in northern Queensland; GBIF occurrence records also include Papua New Guinea.
Bicyrtes viduatus
Bicyrtes viduatus is a sand wasp in the family Crabronidae, found in Central America. It is characterized by pale yellow coloration and lacks the distinctive thoracic 'smiley face' pattern present in related yellow-colored species B. capnopterus and B. ventralis. The submarginal cell of the wing is clouded while the wings remain largely clear. As a member of the genus Bicyrtes, it shares the family's general biology as a solitary, fossorial wasp that preys on true bugs.
Bleptina
litter moths
Bleptina is a genus of litter moths in the family Erebidae, erected by Achille Guenée in 1854. These moths belong to the subfamily Herminiinae, commonly known as litter moths due to their association with decomposing plant material. The genus is characterized by distinctive wing venation patterns and male antennae structure. Species in this genus are found in North America, with documented records from the United States including Vermont.
Brachyanax
Brachyanax is a genus of bee flies (Bombyliidae) in the tribe Anthracini. A 2015 taxonomic treatment recognized 13 species, distributed across parts of Asia and Australasia. Adults are small flies with a distinctive bulbous base to the third antennal segment and wings that are dark and opaque near the base but mostly clear farther out. Species-level identification can require examination of genitalia and wing venation.
Bradina
Bradina is a species-rich genus of crambid moths. It is distinguished from most other Spilomelinae by its wing venation, although most species look similar to one another. A 2023 study of Chinese species illustrates the genus’s taxonomic diversity and the detailed morphology used to distinguish some of its members.
Braunsia
Braunsia is a genus of braconid wasps in the subfamily Agathidinae. A taxonomic revision describes it as medium-sized and records it mainly from the Oriental and Afrotropical regions. The genus-level diagnostic noted in that revision is a deeply depressed area of the frons behind the antennal sockets. A 2017 treatment recognized ten species from China, a regional count rather than a global species total.
Burmacyrtus
Burmacyrtus is an extinct genus of brachyceran flies known from Cretaceous Burmese amber. The 2011 description established one species, B. rusmithi, from a tiny fossil with a body about 2 mm long and a wing about 1.4 mm long. Its classification has been debated: it was described among Acroceridae, but later authors questioned that placement. The fossil preserves unusually detailed wing venation and body features for such a small fly.
Camarota
Camarota is a genus of small flies in the family Chloropidae. The GBIF backbone currently lists eight named species under the genus, and its occurrence records span parts of Europe and Africa, although those records are not a complete range map. A modern revision provides a species-identification key and highlights structures of the antenna, wing, and scutellum that help distinguish these flies.
Campterophlebiidae
Campterophlebiidae is an extinct family of fossil damsel-dragonflies, insects related to modern dragonflies and damselflies. Fossils assigned to the family are known from Europe and Asia, with published records ranging from Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rocks; one overview also reports a Late Triassic starting point. The group is especially diverse in Middle and Late Jurassic deposits of northern China. Researchers identify its members mainly from preserved wing structure, so many details of their biology remain unknown.
Cardiodactylus
Cardiodactylus is a diverse genus of crickets in the subfamily Eneopterinae. Its range extends from Japan and Southeast Asia to northern Australia and islands of the western Pacific. Species are distinguished in taxonomic work using features such as forewing venation and male and female genitalia; researchers have also documented male calling songs. In one species, Cardiodactylus guttulus, winter egg diapause is released by chilling, an adaptation studied in the subtropical Ryukyu Islands.
Carthaea
Carthaea is the moth genus that gives its name to the family Carthaeidae, within the bombycoid moths. The documented species is C. saturnioides from Western Australia. Its larva has been reported feeding on plants in the genus Dryandra, and its development includes a distinctive change in body armature between early and final instars.
Catada
Catada is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae, established by Francis Walker in 1859. GBIF’s taxonomic record currently counts 39 descendants beneath the genus, though that database count is not necessarily a count of distinct accepted species. Published online descriptions characterize the moths by their long, sickle-shaped labial palps and distinctive wing venation; confirming a specimen to genus may require close examination of these structures.
Ceratophya
Ceratophya is an accepted genus of hoverflies in the subfamily Microdontinae. A taxonomic revision describes relatively small, 7–9 mm black-and-yellow flies with long antennae and oval abdomens. The genus is documented from Central and South America, from Panama to northern Argentina. Its placement has been treated differently by taxonomists: one revision recognizes it as a separate genus, while noting that other authors place it within Microdon.
Chaeteessa
Chaeteessa is a mantis genus in the family Chaeteessidae. iNaturalist currently lists six named living species under the genus, while the GBIF checklist also includes a fossil species-level name, so totals depend on scope. A 2018 taxonomic report documents the genus in Peru, and GBIF occurrence records are concentrated in South America. Its wing venation has been described as unusually primitive among mantids.
Chimerothalassius
Chimerothalassius is a genus of minute flies in the long-legged fly family Dolichopodidae, subfamily Parathalassiinae. Published records place members on coastal shores in New Zealand, the Caribbean, and Costa Rica. The genus is associated with rocky or stony beaches, and its species are recognized by a distinctive combination of head, leg, wing, and genital characters. Adults are tiny: the genus has been described as less than 2 mm long.
Chloroclystis
Chloroclystis is an accepted genus of moths in the family Geometridae. It was described by Jacob Hübner in 1825. Generic descriptions distinguish it using a combination of palpal, leg, antennal, abdominal, and wing-venation characters rather than a single color pattern. Research on the genus includes a chromosome-level genome assembly from one species, the V-Pug moth (*Chloroclystis v-ata*).
Chlumetia
Chlumetia is a genus of moths in the family Euteliidae, established by Francis Walker in 1866. GBIF lists 24 descendant taxa for the genus. Named species records span parts of Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Australia, and Pacific islands, though that range is documented species by species rather than as a continuous genus-wide distribution. The genus is recognizable by a combination of palpal, antennal, and wing-venation characters.
Choristidae
Choristidae is a small Australian family of scorpionflies in the order Mecoptera. The Australian Faunal Directory describes it as endemic to Australia and restricted to the south-eastern mainland. Adults are medium-sized insects with open wing venation, while the family checklist records several Australian genera and species. Available family-level sources provide useful structural and geographic information, but do not support assigning one feeding pattern or breeding schedule to every choristid.
Choristopsychidae
Choristopsychidae is an extinct family of scorpionflies (Mecoptera) known from Jurassic fossils in Asia. Martynov established the family in 1937 from an isolated forewing; later discoveries in northeastern China preserved wings together with parts of the body. The family is notable among mecopterans for unusually broad forewings, and some fossils show symmetrical spots on the wings. Because the evidence is fossil evidence, many aspects of its biology remain unknown.
Cingalesa
Cingalesa is a genus of noctuid moths recognized in the family Noctuidae. The available taxonomic accounts treat it as monotypic, with Cingalesa strigicosta reported from Sri Lanka. Its published diagnosis uses small structural characters, including the palps and wing-vein arrangement, rather than conspicuous color pattern. The genus is accepted in the GBIF taxonomic backbone; iNaturalist currently lists one observation, which should not be read as a measure of abundance.
Clinata
bent-winged clickers
Clinata is a genus of cicadas in the family Cicadidae, established in a 2012 review of Australian cicadas. The review included one species, C. nodicosta, and recorded the genus from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. These small, mostly black cicadas are recognizable by a knot-like swelling on the forewing costa that gives the wing edge an angular bend.
Comptosia
Comptosia is a genus of bee flies (Bombyliidae) described by Macquart in 1840. A major revision treated Australian material and organized the species into 19 groups, illustrating substantial diversity within the genus. The genus is best approached through specialist keys rather than a simple field character; the revision distinguishes groups using several head, mouthpart, antennal, and wing features.
Corcobara
Corcobara is a genus of erebid moths in the subfamily Calpinae. Current taxonomic listings recognize the genus and its species Corcobara angulipennis; the genus is treated as monotypic in the available genus account. That species is reported across South and Southeast Asia, extending east to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Its wing shape, prominent forward-pointing palps, and contrasting reddish-brown and orange pattern are described in detail.
Ctenarchis
Ctenarchis is a genus of carposinid moths established for the New Zealand species C. cramboides; current taxonomic catalogs list that as its sole accepted species. Its original description identifies the genus by a distinctive feature of the moth’s genital structures: the arms of the gnathos join at their tips to form a V. Documented occurrence records are from New Zealand. The genus is known chiefly through taxonomic description; its ecology remains poorly documented.
Culladia
Culladia is a genus of grass moths in the family Crambidae, subfamily Crambinae. GBIF and iNaturalist both recognize the genus, while published treatments document species in Asia and elsewhere. A 2017 taxonomic paper reports the genus as newly recorded in Korea alongside a newly recorded species. The genus is distinguished in taxonomic descriptions by a combination of scale-covered palpi and forewing and hindwing vein characters.
Cyana
Cyana is an accepted genus of moths in Erebidae, established by Francis Walker in 1854. Its recorded range spans Africa, Madagascar, and parts of southern and southeastern Asia. Adults have slender, upturned palpi and ciliated antennae; wing-vein patterns differ between sexes and can aid identification.
Dinopanorpidae
Dinopanorpidae is an extinct family of scorpionflies (order Mecoptera) comprising two genera and seven described species. The family was established in 1972 by paleoentomologist Frank Carpenter to accommodate the genus Dinopanorpa, originally described in 1924. These insects are distinguished by a uniquely elongated R1 wing vein that nearly reaches the wing apex—a feature unknown in any other mecopteran lineage. Fossil evidence indicates a restricted temporal and geographic distribution spanning the Paleocene to Eocene in Russia and western North America.
Diostrombus
Diostrombus is a genus of derbid planthoppers with more than 40 described species. Most described species are African, while others occur in the Near East and across parts of southern and eastern Asia. Species are small; reported forewings are about 7–9 mm long, and identification relies on wing venation and head characters. The genus has also been included in taxonomic revisions and species-level anatomical research.
Earias
Earias is a genus of moths in the family Nolidae. Records span Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Technical descriptions distinguish the genus by structures of the palps and a characteristic arrangement of veins in the forewings and hindwings. At least one member, the spiny bollworm (Earias insulana), has documented agricultural relevance through its use of cotton and other plants for egg laying.
Ectopsocidae
Outer Barklice
Ectopsocidae is a family of small bark lice in the order Psocodea, containing fewer than 200 species concentrated primarily in the genus Ectopsocus. These insects are distinguished by unique wing venation features, particularly the absence of the areola postica in the forewing. They are distributed worldwide with highest diversity in Asia, and are found in dead leaf and leaf litter habitats on trees.
Egnasia
Egnasia is an accepted genus of erebid moths, first named by Francis Walker in 1859. GBIF’s current checklist returns 41 species-level names, while its occurrence database holds records from Africa and Asia, including Taiwan, India, Eswatini, South Africa and Thailand. A published online description points to palpal and wing-venation features for recognizing the genus, although those characters need confirmation from a taxonomic treatment.
Elcysma
Elcysma is a small genus of zygaenid moths, with four named species listed in the GBIF backbone. Published records place the genus across Nagaland, northeastern India, western China, and Japan. One species, E. ziroensis, is distinguished by unusually broad dark stripes beside the forewing veins and a distinctive pattern of wing veins. Studies of E. westwoodi document seasonal dormancy and parasitoids, but those observations should not be generalized to every species.
Electrocrania
Electrocrania is an extinct genus of micropterigid moths known from fossils in Eocene Baltic amber. Two species are currently reported for the genus. A 2015 revision described E. michalskii from a male preserved in amber and reinstated Electrocrania as distinct from Micropterix. In that fossil, distinctive wing venation provided the key evidence for its generic placement.
Elhamma
Elhamma is a genus of ghost moths (Hepialidae) described from the Australia–New Guinea region. A 2015 revision gave an updated diagnosis and a key to known species based on adult males. Its identification relies on a distinctive combination of hind-wing venation and male genital structure.
Empidini
dance flies
Empidini is a tribe of empidid flies in the subfamily Empidinae. The tribe includes Afrotropical lineages that have been divided into seven monophyletic species-groups in a published phylogenetic review, with a key provided for recognizing those groups. As members of Empididae, these flies belong to a family of mostly small to medium-sized, bristly, non-metallic flies whose adults commonly capture other arthropods.
Empidoidea
Dance Flies, Long-legged Flies, and Allies
Empidoidea is a large monophyletic superfamily of true flies (Diptera) comprising approximately 10,000 described species across all continents except Antarctica. As the sister taxon to Muscomorpha (Cyclorrhapha), these two groups are sometimes united in the unranked taxon Eremoneura. The superfamily includes several well-known families: Empididae (dagger flies and balloon flies), Dolichopodidae (long-legged flies), and Hybotidae (dance flies). The group has existed since the Jurassic period and has been subject to extensive phylogenetic revision, particularly following molecular studies in 2018 that reshaped relationships among constituent families.