Epinotia


Epinotia is a very large genus of tortrix moths. It belongs to the tribe Eucosmini of subfamily Olethreutinae.

Species

166 species of Epinotia were considered valid as of 2009. Though many tortrix moth genera are fairly comprehensively studied, with little other than cryptic species complexes remaining undiscovered, distinct new species of Epinotia are being described every few years or so. With such a large and insufficiently known taxon, it is of course possible that the group may not be monophyletic as circumscribed here:
In particular during the early to mid-19th century, when little of the diversity of Epinotia was known, it was split into many smaller genera. Today however, these are generally – but not universally, e.g. regarding the supposedly monotypic Griselda, or Catastega which is here considered separate but included in Epinotia elsewhere – included here again at least pending a thorough taxonomic review. Now-invalid scientific names of Epinotia are:
Halonota has also been listed as junior synonym of Epinotia. But its type species Pyralis populana is today placed in Pammene, and thus Halonota is a junior subjective synonym of the latter genus.