Cryphia nana - Hodges#9291
Cryphia nana
This record describes Cryphia nana (species). Recorded family: Noctuidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Noctuoidea
- Family
- Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)
- Subfamily
- Bryophilinae
- Genus
- Cryphia
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
San Diego County, CA south to Mexico. Type locality: San Diego, CA
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: nana is a Latin adjective derived from Greek nanos (νανος)- "dwarf" The Cryphia nana described in 1818 by Jacob Hübner is now Hyperstrotia nana - it's a completely different moth. The name Cryphia nanoides was proposed to replace the name Cryphia nana , which was assumed to be invalidated by Hübner's Cryphia nana . "The issue is explained in Poole's (1989) catalog. Cryphia nana Hübner is a North American species that was transferred to Hyperstrotia . Our Cryphia nana was described in the genus Cerma , so the two names are not "primary homonyms" having different generic names when proposed, and because they are not together in the same genus, they are not secondary homonyms either." - Don Lafontaine (pers. comm., 5/20/2019).
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Cryphia nana. 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 Cryphia nana - Hodges#9291 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Chuck Entz; Additional contributions by Steve Nanz