Mountain Beauty - Hodges#8949
Syngrapha ignea
This record describes Syngrapha ignea (species). Recorded family: Noctuidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.
Identification and Appearance
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
- Superfamily
- Noctuoidea
- Family
- Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)
- Subfamily
- Plusiinae
- Tribe
- Plusiini
- Genus
- Syngrapha
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
Northern Alaska south to southern California, east to Colorado and New Mexico (E.H. Strickland Museum; Eichlin & Cunningham, 1978 ).
Diet and Behavior
Diet: Only European hosts are know. Larvae have been reared on blueberry ( Vaccinium ) and willow ( Salix ) (E.H. Strickland Museum).
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Syngrapha ignea. 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 Mountain Beauty - Hodges#8949 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Ethan Friedman; Additional contributions by Randy Hardy
Frequently Asked Questions About Mountain Beauty - Hodges#8949
How big is Mountain Beauty - Hodges#8949?
forewing length 13-16 mm (Powell & Opler, 2009) wingspan 29-32 mm (E.H. Strickland Museum)
Where is Mountain Beauty - Hodges#8949 found?
Range: Northern Alaska south to southern California, east to Colorado and New Mexico (E.H. Strickland Museum; Eichlin & Cunningham, 1978 ).
What does Mountain Beauty - Hodges#8949 eat?
The diet of the Mountain Beauty - Hodges#8949 includes Only European hosts are know. Larvae have been reared on blueberry ( Vaccinium ) and willow ( Salix ) (E.H. Strickland Museum)..