Argyrotaenia montezumae - Hodges#3598
Argyrotaenia montezumae
This record describes Argyrotaenia montezumae (species). Recorded family: Tortricidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Tortricoidea
- Family
- Tortricidae (Tortricid Moths)
- Subfamily
- Tortricinae
- Tribe
- Archipini
- Genus
- Argyrotaenia
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Records from Arizona and New Mexico. ( 3 ) South into Mexico and Central America. Types and other material: Mexico, Vera Cruz, Las Vigas, 8000 ft., 1887 (W. Schaus ); Orizaba (W. Schaus); Mexico, Popocatepetl, 8000 ft., VI. 1906 (W. Schaus); Guerrero, Amula, 6000 ft., VIII. (H.H. Smith ). Type locality Tortrix impositana Walsingham: Guatemala. Senahu, Vera Paz. Type locality Argyrotaenia montezumae huachucensis Obraztsov: Arizona, Huachuca Mountains.
Diet and Behavior
Diet: Have been recorded on Pinus montezumae and Pinus rudis (Mexico), as well as Gossypium herbaceum and Parthenium hysterophorus (Brazil).
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Uncertain. Possibly originating from a place name (not noted in description), a host plant association (not noted) or for the Aztec leader, himself. Walsingham did not note a host plant association but Pinus montezumae is listed at HOSTS.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Argyrotaenia montezumae. 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.
Photos of Argyrotaenia montezumae - Hodges#3598 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Jason J. Dombroskie; Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset , Randy Hardy