LIST OF CARESHEETS/SPECIES INFO: (Click on the names)
The ‘Glory Moths’ are a small family of about 72 species today (the number keeps changing). Though once thought to contain only one European species, the ‘Kentish Glory’ (Endromis versicolora), modern genetic research has revealed that several Asian genera belong here too, with the inclusion of what were formerly the moth families Miridinae and Prismostictidae, and even the inclusion of the genus Andraca formerly assigned to Bombycidae. Nowadays said Asian species vastly outnumber the ónly European species (Endromis versicolora) once thought to be the only member of this family (yet still remains the only Endromidae species found in Europe).
Faunistically, the family is somewhat overlooked. The life histories of many tropical species of Endromidae are undocumented and unpublished. Generally speaking, it seems that Endromidae are generally well camouflaged – a large number of species seem to resemble a dead leaf. The larvae of many species also have an anal horn, similar to the one seen in hawkmoth (Sphingidae) larvae. Morphologically the larvae can have remarkable forms, including a number of species that have a large, bloated, fleshy ‘hood’ on the thorarical segments (such as in the genera Mustilia and Oberthueria) or even large spines as seen in species such as Mirina christophi.
In many ways the Endromidae remain an enigma; faunistically, evolutionarily, and ecologically, as is often the fate of obscure and smaller moth families. They are rarely reared in captivity, but captive breeding experiments have shown a lot of species are in fact breedable. Online there does exist a small community of insect enthusiasts that like to breed moths in captivity and several hobbyists have managed to breed certain tropical species such as Mustilia sphingiformis, proving that there are possibilities for the future.
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