Tripudia inquaesita - Hodges#9002
Tripudia inquaesita
This record describes Tripudia inquaesita (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
- Cobubathinae
- Genus
- Tripudia
Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.
Habitat and Range
Geographic Range
T. inquaesita occurs in southern Arizona and probably in the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico and T. damozela occurs in southeastern Mexico northward in the Sierra Madre Oriental to western Texas. Differences in maculation and barcode are noted. - Lafontaine & Schmidt
Additional species information
Species notes from the sources
Etymology: Tripudia inquaesita (Barnes & Benjamin, 1924) was replaced by Tripudia damozela (Dyar, 1914) when the two species were synonymized in Lafontaine & Schmidt . T. inquaesita was raised back to full species status in Lafontaine & Schmidt . T. damozela is reassigned to 9002.2 and T. inquaesita is again assigned to 9002, the number used in the 1983 Hodges Checklist.
About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group
Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Tripudia inquaesita. 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 Tripudia inquaesita - Hodges#9002 (5)
Photo credits: Contributed by Steve Nanz