Epicephala

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Genus of moths

title: "Epicephala" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["epicephala", "gracillariinae", "gracillarioidea-genera", "taxa-named-by-edward-meyrick"] description: "Genus of moths" topic_path: "general/epicephala" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicephala" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of moths ::

| image = 08-Epicephala colymbetella Turner, 1947.JPG | image_caption = Epicephala colymbetella | taxon = Epicephala | authority = Meyrick, 1880 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text | synonyms =

  • Iraina Diakonoff, 1955
  • Leiocephala Kuznetzov & Baryschnikova, 2001

Epicephala (leafflower moths) is a genus of moths in the family Gracillariidae.

Epicephala is of note in the fields of pollination biology and coevolution because many species in this genus are pollinators of plants in the genera Glochidion, Phyllanthus, and Breynia (Phyllanthaceae). These pollinating Epicephala actively pollinate the flowers of their host plants—thereby ensuring that the plants may produce viable seeds—but also lay eggs in the flowers' ovaries, where their larvae consume a subset of the developing seeds as nourishment. This relationship is similar to other specialized pollinating seed-predation mutualisms such as those between figs and fig wasps and yuccas and yucca moths.

Other species of Epicephala consume the seeds of species of Phyllanthus or Flueggea (Phyllanthaceae) as larvae, but do not pollinate their host plants as adults. At least some of these species have evolved from pollinating ancestors.

Species

References

References

  1. Kato, M.; Takimura, A.; Kawakita, A. (2003) "An obligate pollination mutualism and reciprocal diversification in the tree genus ''Glochidion'' (Euphorbiaceae)." ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA''. 100 (9): 5264–5267
  2. Kawakita, A.; Kato, M. (2004) "Evolution of obligate pollination mutualism in New Caledonian ''Phyllanthus'' (Euphorbiaceae)." ''American Journal of Botany'' '''91''': 410–415.
  3. Kawakita, A.; Kato, M. (2004) Obligate pollination mutualism in ''Breynia'' (Phyllanthaceae): further documentation of pollination mutualism involving ''Epicephala'' moths (Gracillariidae). ''American Journal of Botany.'' 91:1319–1325.
  4. Kawakita, A.; Kato, M. (2009) "Repeated independent evolution of obligate pollination mutualism in the Phyllantheae-''Epicephala'' association." ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B.'' '''276''': 417–426.
  5. Hembry, D. H.; Okamoto, T.; Gillespie, R. G. (2012) Repeated colonization of remote islands by specialized mutualists. ''Biology Letters''. '''8''': 258–261.
  6. Zhang, J.; Wang, S.; Li, H.; Hu, B.; Yang, X.; Wang, Z. (2012) "Diffuse coevolution between two ''Epicephala'' species (Gracillariidae) and two ''Breynia'' species (Phyllanthaceae). ''PLOS ONE.'' '''7''': e41657.
  7. Luo, S.-X.; Yao, G.; Wang, Z.; Zhang, D.; Hembry, D. H. (2017) "A novel, enigmatic basal leafflower moth lineage pollinating a derived leafflower host illustrates the dynamics of host shifts, partner replacement, and apparent co-adaptation in intimate mutualisms." ''The American Naturalist''. '''189''': 422–435.
  8. Hu, B.; Wang, S.; Zhang, J.; Li, H. (2011) "Taxonomy and biology of two seed-parasitic gracillariid moths (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), with description of a new species." ''ZooKeys.'' '''83''', 43–56
  9. Kawakita, A.; Kato, M. 2009. "Repeated independent evolution of obligate pollination mutualism in the Phyllantheae-''Epicephala'' association." ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B.'' '''276''': 417–426.
  10. Zhang, J., Hu, B., Wang, S. & Li, H. (2012). "Six new species of ''Epicephala'' Meyrick, 1880 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) associated with Phyllanthaceae plants." ''Zootaxa'' 3275: 43-54.

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epicephalagracillariinaegracillarioidea-generataxa-named-by-edward-meyrick