Gastridiota adoxima
This record describes Gastridiota adoxima (species). Recorded family: Bombycidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Gastridiota is a monotypic genus consisting solely of Gastridiota adoxima, a moth of the family Bombycidae. The genus was erected by Alfred Jefferis Turner in 1922 but the species had been described by him in 1902 as Andraca adoxima. It is found in the subtropical east of Australia, from the Bunya Mountains and Montville in southern Queensland to north-eastern New South Wales.
Wikipedia reference for Gastridiota adoxima: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastridiota.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Bombycoidea
- Family
- Bombycidae (Silkworm Moths)
- Subfamily
- Bombycinae
- Genus
- Gastridiota
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 Gastridiota adoxima. 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.
