Great Southern White
Ascia monuste
This record describes Ascia monuste (species). Recorded family: Pieridae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Ascia monuste, the great southern white or pirpinto in Argentina, is a butterfly which is the only species in the genus Ascia of the family Pieridae. In this species the sexes may differ with the female being either light or dark colored. It is found from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, and south through tropical America to Argentina. It is migratory along the southeastern coast of the United States, with strays to...
Wikipedia reference for Ascia monuste: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascia monuste.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Papilionoidea
- Family
- Pieridae (Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs)
- Subfamily
- Pierinae
- Tribe
- Pierini
- Genus
- Ascia
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Ascia monuste. 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.
