Phalonidia straminoides - Hodges#3809.1
Phalonidia straminoides
This record describes Phalonidia straminoides (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
- Tortricinae
- Tribe
- Cochylini
- Genus
- Phalonidia
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Type locality: "New York, Buffalo".
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Phalonidia straminoides (Grote, 1873) [3852] (Hodges et al. (1983) (Checklist)), formerly treated as a synonym of lepidana Clemens, 1860 in Brown (2005), is elevated to full species status in Metzler & Brown (2014). Michael Sabourin (pers. comm., 10/27/2020) suggests that the plummeriana , schwarziana and zaracana , treated as synonyms of lepidana in Metzler & Brown (2014), are instead conspecific with straminiodes . MPG follows this interpretation for identification purposes pending further investigation.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Phalonidia straminoides. 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 Phalonidia straminoides - Hodges#3809.1 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Steve Nanz