LepidopteraCrambidae – Crambid Snout Moths

Sarabotys cupreicostalis - Hodges#4936.5

Sarabotys cupreicostalis

This record describes Sarabotys cupreicostalis (species). Recorded family: Crambidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.

Identification and Appearance

Sarabotys cupreicostalis - Hodges#4936.5 - Sarabotys cupreicostalis — Contributed by Kyhl Austin; Additional contributions by Steve Nanz

Sarabotys cupreicostalis is here reported for the first time in the United States from Arizona by MAS. Five specimens are deposited in the NMNH (National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC): Babquivari Mts., Pima Co., 1–15 Sept. 1923 (2 specimens); Huachuca Mts., Aug. 16–23, Barnes Coll. (1 specimen); and Huachuca Mts., Miller Canyon, 5000’, Cochise Co., 18 July 1974, J. G. Franclemont (2 specimens) .

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily: Pyraloidea
Family: Crambidae (Crambid Snout Moths)
Subfamily: Pyraustinae
Tribe: Pyraustini
Genus: Sarabotys

Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.

Habitat and Range

Geographic Range

AZ TL: Guadajalara, Jalisco, Mexico

About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group

Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Sarabotys cupreicostalis. 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.

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