Fern spore feeding records of Cuprininae moth (Stathmopodidae) in Tengping, Taiwan

In extant insects, spore feeding primarily involves consuming the spores of ferns, a behavior known as fern-spore feeding (FSF). The most representative clade exhibiting FSF is the subfamily Cuprininae (Stathmopodidae), whose larvae feed exclusively on fern spores.

However, detailed knowledge of the feeding habits and host associations within Cuprininae remains limited. In this study, we applied a metabarcoding approach to identify the larvae of FSF insects collected from our study site in subtropical forest and to reconstruct the associations between Cuprininae species and their respective fern hosts. By establishing more robust species-host links, our findings provide critical insights into the ecological specialization and evolutionary history of spore-feeding insects.