Chrysoesthia lingulacella - Hodges#1718
Chrysoesthia lingulacella
This record describes Chrysoesthia lingulacella (species). Recorded family: Gelechiidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Nearly indistinguishable from Chrysoesthia drurella by appearance, but Chrysoesthia lingulacella is a native species in the western US, while C. drurella is known only as an introduced species in the eastern US (particularly NE). C. drurella is not believed to be present in the western US at this time, but could presumably spread wherever the foodplant is present, though no official records have it beyond the eastern half of NA. Where both specimens are present in the eastern US, identification may be difficult.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Gelechioidea
- Family
- Gelechiidae (Twirler Moths)
- Subfamily
- Apatetrinae
- Tribe
- Apatetrini
- Genus
- Chrysoesthia
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Western North America east to Texas, across northern states into Northeast - no data showing presence in SE.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Chrysoesthia lingulacella. 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.