Sciota gilvibasella - Hodges#5805
Sciota gilvibasella
This record describes Sciota gilvibasella (species). Recorded family: Pyralidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Pyraloidea
- Family
- Pyralidae (Pyralid Moths)
- Subfamily
- Phycitinae
- Tribe
- Phycitini
- Genus
- Sciota
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Known only from Texas (Blanco, Cameron, Hidalgo, Nueces, Kenedy, and Kleberg Cos.) Locality of Nephopteryx gilvibasella Hulst, 1890 type unknown; Salebria lacteella Hulst, 1900 type from Blanco Co. Neunzig examined also specimens from Brownsville, San Benito, and Laguna Atascosa, all Cameron Co.; additional specimens from Laguna Atascosa are shown on BOLD; BugGuide adds Hidalgo Co. to the known distribution, and iNaturalist adds Nueces, Kenedy, and Kleberg Cos. Genitalia:
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Sciota gilvibasella. 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 Sciota gilvibasella - Hodges#5805 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Aaron Hunt; Additional contributions by Robert H. Biagi