Larval food plants of Australian Larentiinae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) - a review of available data.

BACKGROUND: In Australia, the subfamily Larentiinae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) comprises over 45 genera with about 270 species described so far. However, life histories of the Australian larentiine moths have barely been studied. NEW INFORMATION: The current paper presents a list of larval food plants of 51 Australian larentiine species based on literature references, data from specimen labels and own observations. Some Australian habitats are shown. Possible relationships among the taxa based on food preference of the larvae are discussed. Additionally, a list of Australasian larentiine species from the genera occurring in Australia and their food plants is presented.

Introduction

The immature stages and biology of the Australian (, ) have received little attention in the past and our knowledge of host plant affiliations of the Australian species is remaining scarce. Hudson (1898) was one of the first researchers who discussed food plants of New Zealand larentiine larvae. Turner (1904), Common (1966) and Common (1990) presented some details of biology and listed a few food plants of Australian . McFarland (1979) published an annotated list of food plants of 280 Australian geometrid moths, including 16 larentiine species, whereby four species were identified to genus. He also succeeded to rear a large number of south Australian geometrid moths and completed 72 life history studies, but only four larentiine species were included (McFarland 1988). McQuillan (1986), McQuillan et al. (1998), McQuillan (1999) and McQuillan (2004) has been studying some aspects of biology, ecology and conservation of Australian moths focusing on the Tasmanian species. Holloway (1997) presented data on food plants of Indo-Australian . Some data on the larvae and food plants of the species Meyrick, Warren, Turner and Swinhoe are given in the reviews of these genera (Schmidt 2001, Schmidt 2002, Schmidt 2005, Schmidt 2006b, Schmidt 2007, Schmidt 2013.) Descriptions of larvae and pupae are incomplete or absent. Some observations on the eggs of Australian moths have been published by McFarland (1973). The first comprehensive review of the southern Australian geometrid eggs, including 18 larentiine species was completed by Young (2006), who also reared Tasmanian larvae of , including several . Craw (1986) briefly described and illustrated a few New Zealand larentiine larvae. Totally, more than 270 larentiine species referred to about 45 genera are currently described from Australia. However, life histories of the vast majority of Australian larentiine moths remain unstudied.

Materials and methods

The present report is based on literature references and personal observations. The following material has been used: (Guenée) (Western Australia, Bremer Bay), (Walker) (New South Wales, Barren Grounds), (Walker) (Queensland, Brisbane), (Doubleday) (New South Wales, Monga State Forest), (Walker) (Queensland, Severnlea), Turner (Queensland, Brisbane), (Walker) (Queensland, Brisbane), (Walker) (Queensland, Bunya Mountains), (Guenée) (Queensland, Lamington National Park), (Walker) (Queensland, Bunya Mountains). Additionally, data were taken from labels of specimens deposited in the Australian Na­tional Insect Collection, CSIRO, Ecosystem Sciences, Canberra (ANIC).

Taxonomic affiliation for several species is questionable therefore several names are cited in quotation marks. Tribal association is only cited for the first member of the tribe in the section “Nomenclature”. In the section “Notes” the source of data on the food plants is presented. A list of Australian species of and their larval food plants is available under “Supplementary Materials” (see Suppl. material 1). A list of Australasian larentiine species from the genera occurring in Australia and their food plants is also presented (see Suppl. material 2).

Checklists

List of the Australian () and their food plants

(Doubleday, 1843)

Tribe

Ecological interactions

Feeds on

sp. ()

Notes

Roberts 1979. However, a newly hatched larva refused to feed on flowers and leaves of sp. (Schmidt, unpubl. data).

Fig. 1.

Figure 1.

, female

Habitat of is presented on Fig. 2.

Figure 2.

Habitat of , New South Wales, Monga State Forest

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

Hudson 1898.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

S. Williams, pers. comm., in: Marriott 2011.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

McFarland 1979.

(Turner, 1907)

()

McFarland 1979. Larvae of a New Zealand species (Walker, 1861) feed on sp. () (Hudson 1898).

Turner, 1941

()

McFarland 1979.

Turner, 1941

()

McFarland 1979.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

Hudson 1898.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

McQuillan 1986.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Doubleday, 1843)

sp. ()

McQuillan 1986.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

McQuillan 1986.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Doubleday, 1843)

()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988. Captured larvae were reared.

(Doubleday, 1843)

sp. ()

Scoble 1999.

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

ANIC label, C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Warren, 1897)

Tribe

()

Turner 1904. The plant species is described as . An Indian larentiine species, (Hampson, 1893) is known to feed on sp. () (P. Bell, pers. comm., in: Holloway 1997). The species was associated with the genera Hübner and Mabille. The synonymy with Walker needs to be checked (see Holloway 1997).

(Walker, 1869)

()

Common 1990. Larvae occasionally damage the young fruits of apples.

Fig. 3.

Figure 3.

, female

Habitat of is presented on Fig. 4.

Figure 4.

Habitat of , New South Wales, Barren Grounds

(Walker, 1869)

()

Common 1990. Larvae occasionally damage the young fruits of cherries.

(Walker, 1869)

()

Turner 1904, McQuillan 1986, Common 1990, Schmidt, unpubl. data. Larvae usually feed on the flowers of sp. The foodplant is known as .

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

McFarland 1979. Larvae feed on flowers and flower buds of various unrelated plants.

(Meyrick, 1891)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McQuillan 1986. Larvae feed on flowers and flower buds of various unrelated plants.

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

McFarland 1979. Larvae feed on flowers and flower buds of various unrelated plants.

(Meyrick, 1891)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McQuillan 1986. Larvae feed on flowers and flower buds of various unrelated plants.

(Guenée, 1858)

()

McFarland 1979. Larvae feed on leaves and buds of the foodplant.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

White 1991.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990. Larvae attack the flowers of sp.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990, Schmidt, unpubl. data.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990, Schmidt, unpubl. data.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990.

McQuillan 1986.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

P. Bell, pers. comm., in: Holloway 1997, Tominaga 1998. Bell describes biology of . The foodplant sp. was in the former . A south-east Asian species Wileman, 1916 has been reared from sp. (). A subspecies Prout, 1932 has been reared from sp. and sp. () (Prout 1932).

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

P. Bell, pers. comm., in: Holloway 1997, Tominaga 1998. Bell describes biology of . The foodplant sp. was in the former .

Turner, 1904

()

F.P. Dodd, pers. comm., in: Turner 1904. The larvae of the Malaysian species Holloway, 1997 apparently feed on sp. () and sp. () (Yunus & Ho 1980, in: Holloway 1997).

(Walker, 1866)

sp. ()

Zhang 1994. The species is known as Warren, 1898.

Turner, 1904

()

Turner 1904, Common 1990. Larvae feed on the flowers of the foodplant.

Fig. 5.

Figure 5.

, female

Habitat of is presented on Fig. 6.

Figure 6.

Habitat of , Queensland, Brisbane

Turner, 1904

()

Schmidt, unpubl. data. Larvae feed on the flowers of the foodplant.

Turner, 1904

sp. ()

Common 1990.

Turner, 1904

sp. ()

Common 1990. Larvae sometimes damage the flowers of sp.

()

D. Herbison-Evans, pers. comm., 2015.

Turner, 1922

()

McFarland 1979. Larvae feed on leaves of the foodplant.

Guenée, 1858

()

McFarland 1979.

Guenée, 1858

()

McFarland 1979.

Guenée, 1858

()

McFarland 1979.

Guenée, 1858

()

Turner 1904.

Guenée, 1858

()

McFarland 1979.

Guenée, 1858

sp. ()

McQuillan 1999.

(Guenée, 1858)

()

Common 1990. Larvae occasionally damage the young fruits of apples. Three Europaean species, (Mabille, 1870), (Hübner, 1817) and (Linnaeus, 1758) feed on spp. (), spp. () and sp., sp., spp., sp. and sp. () (Mironov 2003). A New Zealand species (Hudson, 1939) feed on ().

(Guenée, 1858)

()

Common 1990. Larvae occasionally damage the young fruits of cherries. is known as (Guenée).

(Guenée, 1858)

()

Common 1990, Schmidt, unpubl. data, C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008. Larvae usually feed on the flowers of sp. The foodplant is known as .

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990. Larvae usually feed on the flower buds and flowers of .

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990. Larvae can damage the foliage of the foodplant.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Schmidt, unpubl. data. Larvae readily accepted flowers of sp. from a garden in Brisbane.

(Walker, 1863)

()

Common 1990. Larvae can damage the foliage of the foodplant.

(Walker, 1863)

sp. ()

Common 1990. Larvae can damage the foliage of the foodplant.

(Walker, 1863)

()

Common 1990. Larvae can damage the foliage of the foodplant.

(Walker, 1863)

()

Zhang 1994.

(Walker, 1863)

()

Zhang 1994.

(Walker, 1863)

()

Zhang 1994.

(Walker, 1863)

()

D. Herbison-Evans, pers. comm., 2015. Captured larvae readily accepted the flower petals from sp.

sp. ()

Holloway 1997.

(Warren, 1897)

Tribe

sp. ()

Dugdale 1980. One specimen of the Indo-Pacific species (Snellen, 1881) was reared from the folliage of sp. () (Holloway 1997), of Guenée, 1858 from sp. () and sp. () (P. Bell, pers. comm., in: Holloway 1997), of (Moore, 1888) on sp. () Holloway 1997), and of one species occurring on Niue Island on () (Dugdale 1980).

Dugdale, 1980

()

ANIC label. One larva was beaten from .

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

Dugdale 1980, Common 1990. Larvae have been reported feeding on the young foliage of sp.

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

Dugdale 1980, Common 1990. Larvae have been reported feeding on the young foliage of sp. The foodplant is known as .

(Turner, 1922)

()

ANIC label, Dugdale 1980. The species has been reared by I.F.B. Common (ANIC).

Tribe

sp. ()

McQuillan 1999, McQuillan 2004.

sp. ()

Hudson 1898, Dugdale 1964, Dugdale 1988, McQuillan 1999, McQuillan 2004. One New Zealand species feeds on sp. and () (Dugdale 1971).

(Walker, 1863)

()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988, C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Walker, 1863)

()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988, C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Guenée, 1858)

()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988.

(Walker, 1963)

()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979 McFarland 1988.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988. Larvae were feeding on introduced weeds in capture.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988. Larvae were feeding on introduced weeds in capture.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988. Larvae were feeding on introduced weeds in capture.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988. Larvae were feeding on introduced weeds in capture.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988. Larvae were feeding on introduced weeds in capture.

(Guenée, 1858)

sp. ()

McFarland 1979, McFarland 1988. Larvae were feeding on introduced weeds in capture.

(Walker, 1963)

()

McFarland 1979. Larvae readily accepted leaves and buds of but refused to feed on . A New Zealand species (Doubleday, 1843) feeds on () (Hudson 1898).

Fig. 7.

Figure 7.

, female

Habitat of is presented on Fig. 8.

Figure 8.

Habitat of , Queensland, Severnlea

(Walker, 1963)

sp. ()

Schmidt, unpubl. data. Larvae were feeding on sp. from a garden in Brisbane.

(Walker, 1963)

()

D. Herbison-Evans, pers. comm., 2015.

(Guenée, 1858)

var. vulgaris ()

McFarland (1979), Schmidt, unpubl. data. Captured larvae were reared.

(Guenée, 1858)

()

McQuillan (1999). Captured larvae were reared to the final instar.

(Guenée, 1858)

()

McQuillan (2004). One New Zealand species is known to feed on sp. () and () (White 1991).

(Walker, 1866)

()

Schmidt (2003), Schmidt (2005), Schmidt (2006a), Schmidt (2007).

Fig. 9.

Figure 9.

, female

Habitat of is presented on Fig. 10.

Figure 10.

Habitat of , Queensland, Bunya Mountains

(Guenée, 1858)

var. vulgaris ()

McFarland (1979), McFarland (1988). Captured larvae were reared. Malaysian Holloway, 1997 were feeding on sp. (Cruciferae) and sp. (Labiatae) (Yunus and Ho 1980, Singh 1953, in: Holloway 1997).

(Doubleday)

Unplaced to tribe

()

S. Williams, unpubl. data.

Schmidt, 2001

()

McFarland (1979), Schmidt (2001).

(Guenée)

()

Common (1966), McFarland (1979), Schmidt (2001).

Fig. 11.

Figure 11.

, male

Habitat of is presented on Fig. 12.

Figure 12.

Habitat of , Western Australia, Stirling Range

(Guenée)

()

S. Williams, unpubl. data.

(Guenée, 1858)

()

McFarland (1979), Schmidt (2001).

(Turner, 1904)

()

ANIC label, Schmidt (2002). In ANIC there is a specimen with a label written by I.F.B. Common, “Larvae eat bracken fern".

(Lower, 1902)

var. vulgaris ()

McFarland (1979), McFarland (1988).

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Meyrick, 1891)

()

C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2008.

(Guenée, 1858)

()

S. Williams, pers. comm., in: Marriott (2011).

()

C. Byrne, pers. comm., 2016. The species is recorded as . The collection details are: Cape Bruny, Tasmania, 28/10/99, C. Byrne.

(Warren, 1899)

()

McFarland (1979).

(Walker, 1963)

()

ANIC label. Larvae feed on leaves and shoots of .

McQuillan (1986).

var. robusta ()

McFarland (1988). The species cited as “” sp.? has been reared. The specimen apparently represents an undescribed species (Schmidt, unpubl. data).

Guenée, 1858

sp. ()

Turner (1904).

(Guenée, 1858)

()

ANIC label, Schmidt (2006b), Schmidt (2013). Larvae were reared from eggs.

(Walker, 1862)

()

Schmidt, unpubl. data. Larvae were reared from eggs.

Fig. 13.

Figure 13.

, female

Habitat of is presented on Fig. 14.

Figure 14.

Habitat of , Bunya Mountains

(Walker, 1862)

()

Schmidt, unpubl. data. Final instar larvae readily accepted the leaves of (flowers and buds were not offered).

Discussion

Larval food plants of 51 Australian larentiine species from the following tribes are presented, including (5 species), (17 species), (4 species) and (10 species). Additionally, food plants of 15 species unplaced to tribe are listed. The larvae are recorded to feed on 36 plant families (Table 1). More than a half of plant species are native to Australia. Two species, namely () and () are recorded as invasive species.

Table 1.

Families of the larval food plants of Australian Larentiinae

No	Food plant	Tribe	Species
1	Araliaceae	Xanthorhoini	Epyaxa subidaria
2	Asteraceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" catastreptes
2	Asteraceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" insigillata
2	Asteraceae	Eupitheciini	Microdes oriochares
2	Asteraceae	Eupitheciini	Phrissogonus laticostata
2	Asteraceae	Eupitheciini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
2	Asteraceae	Unplaced to tribe	"Chrysolarentia" squamulata
3	Boraginaceae	Xanthorhoini	Epyaxa sodaliata
4	Caryophyllaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
5	Chenopodiaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
6	Dilleniaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
6	Dilleniaceae	Unplaced to tribe	Anachloris tofocolorata
6	Dilleniaceae	Unplaced to tribe	Anachloris uncinata
6	Dilleniaceae	Unplaced to tribe	Heterohasta conglobata
7	Epacridaceae	Asthenini	Poecilasthena pulchraria
7	Epacridaceae	Unplaced to tribe	"Chrysolarentia" leucophanes
8	Ericaceae	Asthenini	Poecilasthena pulchraria
8	Ericaceae	Asthenini	Phrissogonus laticostata
8	Ericaceae	Unplaced to tribe	"Chrysolarentia" severata
9	Euphorbiaceae	Eupitheciini	Bosara minima
9	Euphorbiaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" catastreptes
9	Euphorbiaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" insigillata
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" approximata
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" catastreptes
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" filata
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" insigillata
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	Gymnoscelis lophopus
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	Microdes squamulata
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	Microdes villosata
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	Pasiphila testulata
10	Fabaceae	Eupitheciini	Phrissogonus laticostata
10	Fabaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
10	Fabaceae	Xanthorhoini	Epyaxa subidaria
10	Fabaceae	Xanthorhoini	Xanthorhoe vacuaria
10	Fabaceae	Unplaced to tribe	"Chrysolarentia" actinipha
10	Fabaceae	Unplaced to tribe	Melitulias sp.
11	Gentianaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
12	Geraniaceae	Asthenini	Epicyme rubropunctaria
12	Geraniaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia decisaria
13	Haloragaceae	Asthenini	Epicyme rubropunctaria
14	Lauraceae	Trichopterygini	Sauris cirrhigera
15	Lamiaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
16	Lythraceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
17	Malvaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
18	Meliaceae	Eupitheciini	Symmimetis sp.
18	Meliaceae	Trichopterygini	Sauris malaca
19	Moraceae	Unplaced to tribe	Polyclysta hypogrammata
20	Myrtaceae	Asthenini	Poecilasthena balioloma
20	Myrtaceae	Asthenini	Poecilasthena ischnophrica
20	Myrtaceae	Asthenini	Poecilasthena pulchraria
20	Myrtaceae	Asthenini	Poecilasthena xylocyma
20	Myrtaceae	Unplaced to tribe	"Chrysolarentia" leucophanes
21	Onagraceae	Unplaced to tribe	Anachloris subochraria
22	Piperaceae	Asthenini	Poecilasthena pulchraria
23	Pittosporaceae	Eupitheciini	Gymnoscelis sp.
24	Plantaginaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" filata
24	Plantaginaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia insulsata
24	Plantaginaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia lucidulata
24	Plantaginaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
24	Plantaginaceae	Xanthorhoini	Epyaxa subidaria
25	Podocarpaceae	Trichopterygini	Tympanota perophora
26	Polygonaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia vicissata
27	Primulaceae	Eupitheciini	Collix ghosha
27	Primulaceae	Eupitheciini	Epyaxa sodaliata
28	Proteaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" insigillata
28	Proteaceae	Eupitheciini	Gymnoscelis lophopus
28	Proteaceae	Eupitheciini	Gymnoscelis derogata
29	Ranunculaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" catastreptes
29	Ranunculaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" insigillata
29	Ranunculaceae	Eupitheciini	Phrissogonus laticostata
29	Ranunculaceae	Xanthorhoini	Chrysolarentia decisaria
30	Rosaceae	Eupitheciini	"Chloroclystis" approximata
30	Rosaceae	Eupitheciini	Pasiphila testulata
30	Rosaceae	Eupitheciini	Phrissogonus laticostata
31	Rubiaceae	Eupitheciini	Gymnoscelis delocyma
31	Rubiaceae	Xanthorhoini	Acodia sp.
31	Rubiaceae	Xanthorhoini	Austrocidaria sp.
31	Rubiaceae	Xanthorhoini	Scotocyma albinotata
32	Santalaceae	Trichopterygini	Sauris commoni
33	Sapindaceae	Trichopterygini	Sauris malaca
34	Scrophulariaceae	Eupitheciini	Chloroclystis s.l. sp.
35	Urticaceae	Unplaced to tribe	Visiana brujata
35	Urticaceae	Unplaced to tribe	Visiana incertata
36	Verbenaceae	Eupitheciini	Gymnoscelis lophopus

, , , , , and are known as minor pests of cultivated plants.

The food plants are recorded for about 20% of Australian species therefore conclusions about food preference are rather preliminary. Moreover, the larentiine larvae are often polyphagous, hence the assumptions that taxa are closely related based solely on food preference of the larvae should not be overestimated.

Tribes and

Like in the Palaearctic region, larvae of Australian species of the tribe are mostly polyphagous or oligophagous, tending to feed on flowers and buds of various plants. The tribes and are often considered closely related (e.g. Xue and Scoble 2002). Holloway (1997) treated the ‘asthenine’ genera in , although he mentioned that Warren, Warren, Hübner, Swinhoe and Holloway could be placed in . The present study revealed no evidence of concordance of the data on food preference of the larvae of these two tribes. The asthenine larvae mainly feed on leaves of native , , and , with one species feeding on , whereas the larvae of prefer feeding on the flowers and buds of , , , , , , , , , , , and occasionally on and . The tribe seems to be distinct from , however, additional data need to be collected and analysed to clarify placement of several genera currently included in these tribes.

Tribe

Food plants are recognized for several Indo-Pacific and South American species of the genera occurring in Australia. Larvae of one Japanese species of Warren from the tribe feed on foliage of trees or shrubs of sp. () (Sugi, 1987, in: Holloway 1997), like Australian trichopterygine species of . Generally, the Australian trichopterygines are associated with , , and . In Europe, larvae of are associated with trees and shrubs from the families , , and , with a few polyphagous species feeding on , , , , , and (see Hausmann and Viidalepp 2012). Most of the trichopterygine food plants belong to the in both Europe and Australasia.

Like in the Palaearctic region, larvae of Australian xanthorhoines are polyphagous, feeding mainly on foliage of flowering plants and herbs. Most of the Australian larvae accepted , and .

Genera unplaced to tribes

Larvae of a New Zealand species (Philpott, 1914) accepted sp. (), whereas (Hudson, 1903) was feeding on () (B. Patrick, pers. comm., in: Craw 1986). The genus Craw is currently assigned to the tribe (McQuillan and Edwards 1996) but does not share several morphological characters of the tribe and is in need of taxonomic study (Schmidt, unpubl. data). is a food plant of several asthenine species and of of which the tribal assignment is still unclear. Apart from , no further larentiine larvae are known to feed on . In Europe, the larvae of spp. are known to feed on , , , and (see Hausmann and Viidalepp 2012). Regarding the larval food preference of , there is no indication of a close affinity with .

Larvae of an Indo-Pacific species (Walker, 1861) feed on sp. () (Singh, 1953, in: Holloway 1997), while most of South American species of the genus readily accept sp. () (Strutzenberger and Fiedler 2011). Hübner is not assigned to any tribe currently although it has been cited in and , or excluded from both tribes (Holloway 1997, Xue and Scoble 2002, Strutzenberger and Fiedler 2011, Viidalepp 2011). sp., sp., sp., sp. () are food plants of the Indo-Australian eupitheciine larvae, which would indicate an affinity of with . However, larvae of one asthenine species feed on , like (Doubleday, 1843) that is placed in . Adult morphological characters indicate a close relationship of the Australasian to (Schmidt, unpubl. data).

List of the Australian () and their food plants

Data type: food plants

File: oo_81963.xls

List of the Australasian () and their food plants

Data type: food plants

File: oo_72989.xls