Rhigognostis poulella - Hodges#2364
Rhigognostis poulella
This record describes Rhigognostis poulella (species). Recorded family: Plutellidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Additional details | From Busck, A. 1904. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 27 (1375): 753: Antennae light fuscous. Labial palpi dark brown exteriorly, ochreous white on the inner side; tuft not large. Face whitish in the middle, brown along the sides. Top of head with loose, erect scales, whitish. |
| Thorax | Thorax and forewings light ochreous fuscous; costal edge and apical part with strong, golden reflexions; below the fold the wing is whitish fuscous, lighter than above. Along the fold from the base of the wing is a dark brown, irregular streak with two short, pointed projections into the light colored field below. The entire wing is sparsely sprinkled with dark fuscous scales which form small and ill-defined dark spots on the outer costal edge and at apex. |
| Hindwings | Hindwings whitish fuscous, nearly transparent and with a bluish tinge. |
| Abdomen | Abdomen ochreous fuscous. Genitalia light ochreous. |
| Legs | Legs ochreous, mottled with brown on the outer surfaces. Venation typical. Alar expanse, 24 mm. Habitat. - Kaslo, British Columbia (Cockle). Type.-Cat. No. 7883, U. S. National Museum. Very similar in ornamentation to P. maculipennis Curtis, but nearly twice as large. |
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Yponomeutoidea
- Family
- Plutellidae (Diamondback Moths)
- Genus
- Rhigognostis
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Rhigognostis poulella (Busck, 1904) Plutella poulella Busck, 1904
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Rhigognostis poulella. 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.