Small Ermine Moths (Yponomeuta): Their Host Relations and Evolution

The genus Yponomeuta, or small ermine moths, forms a rather small genus of the family Yponomeutidae (Lepidoptera, Ditrysia).It contains some 30 species, and has a wide palearctic distribution (37, 108; G. D. E. Povel, personal communication).The present review almost entirely focuses on West European taxa.Nine well-defined species occur in western Europe (Table 1) (115).Six these are monophagous on shrubs or trees of the families Celastraceae, Rosaceae, and Salicaceae.Yponomeuta vigintipunctatus is restricted to the forb Sedum telephium (Crassulaceae).Yponomeuta malinellus can be found on Malus and Pyrus species, whereas Yponomeuta padellus feeds on plants from various genera of the Rosaceae.Related to Y. padellus is a complex of five taxa, often referred to as the "padellus-complex," the taxonomic and