Pelochrista agricolana - Hodges#3037
Pelochrista agricolana
This record describes Pelochrista agricolana (species). Recorded family: Tortricidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Tortricoidea
- Family
- Tortricidae (Tortricid Moths)
- Subfamily
- Olethreutinae
- Tribe
- Eucosmini
- Genus
- Pelochrista
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Type locality of Paedisca smithiana Walsingham, 1895: Loveland, Colorado.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Specific epithet from Latin meaning "farmer." Pelochrista agricolana (Walsingham, 1879) includes as synonyms 3038 P. smithiana (Walsingham, 1895), 3039 P. barbara (Miller, 1974) and the subspecies P. argentialbana britana (McDunnough, 1927), MONA Fascicle 9.5: 37-39. ( 3 ) Also, P. argentialbana was raised to full species from synonymy of agricolana and replaces what was previously regarded as agricolana in MONA Fascicle 9.5 as a result of a reinterpretation of the type material. Put another way, the identities of the two taxa were essentially flipped.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Pelochrista agricolana. 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 Pelochrista agricolana - Hodges#3037 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Maury J. Heiman; Additional contributions by Steve Nanz , Randy Hardy , Kyhl Austin