Family Epipyropidae (Planthopper Parasite Moths)

The Epipyropidae are a small family of moths with a total of 32 described species. The family is suggested to be related to the Neotropical Dalceridae in Krampl & Dlabola, though Brock (1971) placed the Epipyropidae in the Tineoidea and the Dalceridae in the Cossoidea. Common (1970) placed both families in the Zygaenoidea. The Epipyropidae are probably all ectoparasitic on Homoptera. Indeed, the family at present appears best defined by this unusual biology. This family and the closely-related Cyclotornidae are unique among the Lepidoptera in that the larvae are ectoparasites, the hosts typically being fulgoroid planthoppers, thus the common name Planthopper Parasite Moths. Most regions of the world support species but the distribution is primarily pantropical, with most species resticted to the Indo-Australian region. Only one species in this family is present in our region.