LepidopteraCrambidae – Crambid Snout Moths

Invisible Crambid - Hodges#4877

Aethiophysa invisalis

This record describes Aethiophysa invisalis (species). Recorded family: Crambidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.

Identification and Appearance

Invisible Crambid - Hodges#4877 - Aethiophysa invisalis — Contributed by v belov; Additional contributions by Steve Nanz , marcie oconnor , Ken Childs , Robert H. Biagi

12mm . Ailes super, squammeuses, d'un fauve-isabelle uni , avec la frange noirâtre, à extrémité blanche et précédée d'une série terminale de petits points noirs arrondis. Aucune ligne ni tache. Ailes infér. blanches, avec un double liseré noirâtre, surmonté d'une légère teinte Isabelle, n'atteignant pas les angles, et dont le filet supérieur est plus foncé et un peu festonné ; leur dessous avec une série terminale de points bien marqués. - Guenée, M. A. 1854: 361 . Rough translation: 12mm. Forewing scaling of a plain tawny pale fawn, with the blackish fringe, with white end and preceded by a terminal series of small rounded black dots. No line or spot. Hind wing, white, with a double blackish border, surmounted by a slight hue pale fawn, not reaching the angles, and whose upper net is darker and a little festooned; their underside with a terminal series of well-marked points.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily: Pyraloidea
Family: Crambidae (Crambid Snout Moths)
Subfamily: Glaphyriinae
Genus: Aethiophysa

Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.

Habitat and Range

Geographic Range

widespread eastern NA Type locality: French Guiana

Diet and Behavior

Diet: unknown

About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group

Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Aethiophysa invisalis. Species-specific details appear above.

Group overview

Lepidoptera includes approximately 180,000 described species of butterflies and moths. Moths outnumber butterflies roughly 10:1. The monarch butterfly's eastern population has declined by more than 80% since the mid-1990s, and the western population by over 95% since the 1980s. The IUCN lists the migratory monarch as Vulnerable.

Ecological role of the group

Butterflies and moths are essential indicators of ecosystem health. As caterpillars, they are a primary food source for birds - a single nest of blue tit chicks requires ~10,000 caterpillars. Adult moths pollinate many night-blooming plants.

Economic and practical significance of the group

Lepidoptera are critical pollinators. In Europe, grassland butterfly species have declined by almost 50% since the early 1990s. In the UK, three-quarters of butterflies are in decline. In the U.S., five butterfly species have gone extinct since 1950, with 29 listed as endangered.

Recorded sources for this group: IUCN Red List, Xerces Society, USFWS, PNAS, WWF. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.

Explore Lepidoptera families and species →