Cauchas dietziella sp. grp. - Hodges#0212
Cauchas dietziella
This record describes Cauchas dietziella (species). Recorded family: Adelidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Cauchas dietziella (Kearfott, 1908) and Cauchas cyanella (Busck, 1915) can be determined only by dissection.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Adeloidea
- Family
- Adelidae (Fairy Moths)
- Subfamily
- Adelinae
- Genus
- Cauchas
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Specific epithet in honor of Dr. William G. Dietz (1848-1932), "who very recently revised the very difficult group to which this species belongs." Born in Germany, he emigrated to the United States after the Franco-Prussian War. Dietz was a physician and amateur entomologist, specializing in beetles, especially weevils, but also in lepidoptera.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Cauchas dietziella. 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 Cauchas dietziella sp. grp. - Hodges#0212 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by tom murray; Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset , Randy Hardy