Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701
Sparganothis pulcherrimana
This record describes Sparganothis pulcherrimana (species). Recorded family: Tortricidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Adult - forewing brown with yellow shading beyond PM line, large yellow semicircular patch along costa, and small yellow rectangular patch along inner margin; brown shading extends to base of wing; hindwing white.
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Tortricoidea
- Family
- Tortricidae (Tortricid Moths)
- Subfamily
- Tortricinae
- Tribe
- Sparganothini
- Genus
- Sparganothis
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Eastern United States plus Ontario (Florida to Texas, north to at least Iowa and Ontario); type specimen collected in Texas distribution not well documented due to historical confusion with Sparganothis niveana ; for example, BugGuide has photos from Florida and South Carolina but the species is not on traditional moth lists from Florida and South Carolina (see comments by Bob Patterson here )
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Specific epithet from the Latin "pulcher" (beauty); the meaning of the specific epithet is the basis for the suggested common name Beautiful Sparganothis. There are two geometrids that share the name, Caripeta pulcherrima (Guedet, 1941) and the emerald moth Nemoria pulcherrima (Barnes & McDunnough, 1916).
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Sparganothis pulcherrimana. 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 Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Mike Boone; Additional contributions by Robin McLeod , Randy Hardy
Frequently Asked Questions About Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701
What is Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701?
Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701 (Sparganothis pulcherrimana) is a species in the family Tortricidae, within the order Lepidoptera.
How big is Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701?
Wingspan about 14-17 mm. ,
How do you identify Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701?
Adult - forewing brown with yellow shading beyond PM line, large yellow semicircular patch along costa, and small yellow rectangular patch along inner margin; brown shading extends to base of wing; hindwing white.
Where is Beautiful Sparganothis - Hodges#3701 found?
Range: Eastern United States plus Ontario (Florida to Texas, north to at least Iowa and Ontario); type specimen collected in Texas distribution not well documented due to historical confusion with Sparganothis niveana ; for example, BugGuide has photos from Florida and South Carolina but the species is not on traditional moth lists from Florida and South Carolina (see comments by Bob Patterson here )