Baileya acadiana - Hodges#8971.1
Baileya acadiana
This record describes Baileya acadiana (species). Recorded family: Nolidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Noctuoidea
- Family
- Nolidae (Nolid Moths)
- Subfamily
- Risobinae
- Genus
- Baileya
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
As of the original description, it had been confirmed from "Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas". It should be expected from neighboring states.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: From the original description: "The epithet is derived from the colloquial term for the region as well as the endemic human populations, early settlers in the southern rural regions of Louisiana, the Acadians (Cajuns), French settlers who traveled to Louisiana from (Acadia) Nova Scotia."
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Baileya acadiana. 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 Baileya acadiana - Hodges#8971.1 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Chuck Entz; Additional contributions by Steve Nanz , Maury Heiman