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The Elachista Corbicula is part of the Lepidoptera insect order, specifically the moth is within the (Elachistdae) grass-miner family in Australia. Etymology The English word “Corbicula” comes from the Latin terminology of “little basket”, when further outlining the entomology of “Elachista”. The modern English word of “Corbiculum” means the basal joint of the bee’s foot where it is fringed with stiff hairs on the inner side and is concave spaced. Australian Moths A majority of Australian moths feed onto Cyperaceae (background sedges), an specific plant that is characterised by having solid stems and three-ranked stem leaves. These background sedges are a common and spread species within Australia, creating an significant ecological components for many Australian moths in those ecosystems. In many ecosystems, where grass-miner moths’ habitat, many species of Cyperaceae tribe live in locations where there is dryland that is only seasonally damp1. This includes woodlands and heath areas where open land obtains rough grass with a small number of trees and shrubs. In addition, for the species of Lepidoptera in Australia, there is insufficient information. Leaving to the issue of only 139 moth species having an formal name; while the remaining 9 are recognised and described. Grass-Miner Moths Grass-miner moths (Elachista Corbicula) are included in the family Elachistinae, comprising within the subfamily of either Perittiinae or Elachistinae. Whereas they are specifically a very small-scaled, grass and mining moth from the superfamily of Gelechioidea. The subfamily of Elachistidae represents approximately more than 0.45% of recognised moth species worldwide (723 out of over 160,000 moth species)2.

The characteristics of the grass-miner moths wings is either white to grey or black. Depending on the humidity within the ecosystem, the wings of the Elachistdae varies from distally more pigmented scales, paler scales or having bronzed reflection. Specifically, the wings of the Elachista Corbicula have fine hair particles within the wing’s fringes. Additionally, grass-miner moths forewings have the markings of either three of four lighter toned spots, coloured either white, pale yellow, silver or golden. Due to the fact that the Elachistdae are part of the superfamily of Gelechioidea, they have similar external characteristics as members of the superfamily do. Such as having long and ascending sickle-shaped labial palpi, located near the mouth of an insect’s labium (the mouthpart that shapes the floor of the mouth of an insect). As well has sharing the common Gelechioidea characteristics of having a basally scaled haustellum (insect’s sucking organ that collects juice of flora)3.

Morphological Descriptions of Adult Elachistidae In some cases, the Elachistdae fauna species are morphology close to being identical. Unless further extensive knowledge of the Elachistdae family is provided, only one sex of the adult Elachistdae can be identified. Distinguishing of adult Elachistdae is only due to the history of Australian grass-miner moths. The wingspan of the adult Elachista Corbicuala species varies from 5 to 23 millimetres3. The adult species of the grass-miner moths are nocturnal and often have short lives to live. As an adult, their lifespan ranges from two to three weeks. Leaving the species to only focus on one dominant aspect within their adult lives, reproduction. Specifically, the male species need to find a mate while the female must provide an area to lay their eggs4. History Previously, the members of the Elachistdae were considered to be in the tineoid complex. Where all very small, scaled moths were labelled into. However, this heterogeneity in the tineoid complex caused inconsistency with the formal names of small, scaled moths for a long period of time3. Throughout history, many entomologists (scientists who studies the dynamics of an insect) and botanists such as Jean Boisduval (1836), Henri Duponchel (1838 - 1845) and Edward Meyrick (1915) had attempts to solve this matter. While most attempts of designations for the grass-miner moths were failed, in 1989 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) confirmed Meyrick’s designation and supressed any preceding designations. This allowed the concept of Elachista and the Elachistidae family to be preserved (ICZN 1989). In the history of the Australian Elachistdae family, a botanist created a checklist of the Lepidoptera of Australia (Nielsen et al 1996)5. Within the checklist, the family of Elachistdae had 19 species listed. At this time, the Elachista Corbicula was not included in the listing. This created a remarkable stance for the Elachistdae family, for it outlined that the family has been officially virtually studied.

Majority of information concerning the Elachista Corbicula moths are located in the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC) in Canberra, Australia and the Natural History Museum (BMNH) in London, United Kingdom.

Edward Meyrick In regard to the Elachista Corbicula, Edward Meyrick (1854 – 1938) is largely significant to the preservation of the classification of the species. He was the first author to provide a more extensive and detailed outline of the dynamics of Australian small-scaled moths6. As an entomologist, he had much founding’s of small-scaled moths in Australia. Considered as one of the founding fathers of modern microlepidoptera systematics, he had provided extensive and detailed descriptions of over 20,000 new species of Lepidoptera5. He presented his own collection of findings to the Natural History Museum (BMNH) in London, United Kingdom with water-colour drawings and a complete catalogue. In 1869 October, Meyrick joined the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge and in 1871 served as a member of the entomological section.

Edward Meyrick took a significant influence in the evolution of Australian small-scaled moths. Rather than supressing all different species under one family, Meyrick categorised many groups to family rank each species including the Elachista Corbicula.

Economics Predators and Parasites Through an economical perspective, the Elachista Corbicula species often habitat in ecological areas of either woodlands or hearth habitats. In these areas, the grass-miner moths are vulnerable to being eaten by small-sized nocturnal insectivores that live in those ecological habitats. Such small insectivores are bats, birds, lizards and rats. Ecological Importance In Australia, the Elachista Corbicula species provides ecosystems large amounts of pollen. Research has shown that night pollinators tend to transport and spread more pollen than daytime pollinators (i.e. butterflies, hoverflies and bees). Overall, moths tend to interact with pants that even aren’t interacted by these daytime pollinators7. The ecological importance of the Elachista Corbicula is significant as they ensure that all the ecosystem’s plants are nurtured with pollen.

Bibliography 1Barrett, R. L. "Ecological Importance Of Sedges: A Survey Of The Australasian Cyperaceae Genus Lepidosperma". Annals Of Botany, vol 111, no. 4, 2013, pp. 499-529. Oxford University Press (OUP), doi:10.1093/aob/mct008. Accessed 26 Apr 2021. 2 Sugisima, Kazuhiro, and Lauri Kaila. Elachistine Moths Of Australia: (Lepidoptera ; Gelechioidea ; Elachistidae) (Monographs On Australian Lepidoptera). CSIRO Publishing, 2011. 3 Peck, Stuart B. Smaller Orders Of Insects Of The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. NRC Research Press, 2001. 4 Lessiter, Mavis. Butterflies And Moths. Bush P, 1989, pp. 29 - 32. 5 Edwards, E. D. "A Review Of The Genus Eriogenes Meyrick (Lepidoptera : Elachistidae : Stenomatinae) In Australia". Invertebrate Systematics, vol 17, no. 1, 2003, p. 67. CSIRO Publishing, doi:10.1071/is02022. 6 Clark, Alan J. “The History of the Royal Society: A Chronological Checklist of Books in English.” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, vol. 46, no. 2, 1992, pp. 335–345. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/531650. Accessed 29 Apr. 2021. 7 University College London. "Moths have a secret but vital role as pollinators in the night." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 May 2020. .