Trumpet Leafminer Moths

Tischerioidea is the superfamily of "trumpet" leaf miner moths. The superfamily contains just one family, Tischeriidae, and traditionally one genus, Tischeria, but currently three genera are recognised, widespread around the world including South America (Davis, 1986), except for Australasia (Puplesis and Diskus, 2003). This is one candidate as the sister group (see also Palaephatoidea) of the bulk of Lepidoptera, the Ditrysia (Davis, 1999; Wiegmann et al., 2002), and they have a monotrysian type of female reproductive system. These small moths are leaf-miners in the caterpillar stage, feeding mainly on Fagaceae (Tischeria and Coptotriche), Asteraceae, and Malvaceae (Astrotischeria), and some also on Rhamnaceae, Tiliaceae, and Rosaceae.