Chocolate Prominent - Hodges#7921
Peridea ferruginea
This record describes Peridea ferruginea (species). Recorded family: Notodontidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Noctuoidea
- Family
- Notodontidae (Prominent Moths)
- Subfamily
- Phalerinae
- Genus
- Peridea
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
NL west to MB and south to along the Atlantic to VA, along the Appalachians to northern GA and in the midwest to souther AR.
Diet and Behavior
Diet: Gray birch ( Betula populifolia ), paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ) and presumably yellow birch ( Betula alleghaniensis ) (at high elevations) and black (river) birch ( Betula nigra ) (at mid elevations).
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: ferrugineus is Latin for "rusty"
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Peridea ferruginea. 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 Chocolate Prominent - Hodges#7921 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Cotinis; Additional contributions by Steve Nanz , Tony-2 , Chuck Entz , Maury Heiman