Butterflies - Page 2 of 2

Amerikanische Sackmotte Coleophora leucochrysella

A photo of the American casebearer moth published on iNaturalist in June 2020 shows that, contrary to earlier assumptions, this species is not extinct. Scientists had previously believed that the insect from the casebearer moth family disappeared between 1904 and 1950. (© Steven Whitebread, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

5. April 2021 Doreen Fräßdorf

Chestnut casebearer moth

Chestnut blight from East Asia devastated more than just the American chestnut The American chestnut casebearer moth relied on the native American chestnut (Castanea dentata) for survival. This hardwood tree was the sole host plant for its larvae, ultimately leading to the highly specialized moth species’ downfall. Once one of

Sloane's urania, drawn by William Swainson and published in 1829 in Zoological Illustrations (Volume 3). (© William Swainson, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

26. July 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Sloane’s Urania

A day-flying moth Sloane’s urania, a strikingly beautiful moth with a wingspan of up to 7.6 centimeters, probably died out at the beginning of the 20th century because it could no longer find food plants for its caterpillars. What was special about Sloane’s urania was not only that, because of

Female Madeiran large white from the book The Butterflies and Moths of Teneriffe (1894) by A. E. and Rashleigh Holt White. (© A. E. Holt White, Rashleigh Holt White, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

20. July 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Madeiran Large White

Did a virus or a parasite drive it to extinction? The Madeiran large white was declared the first butterfly to have gone extinct in Europe due to human interference with nature, according to Lewis Smith in a 2007 article in the British Times. Exactly why the Madeiran large white went

Various specimens of the extinct Xerces blue from the collection of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. (© Brianwray26, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

9. June 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Xerces Blue

I always thought there were more. When entomologist W. Harry Lange was collecting insects on March 23, 1941 at the former military base Presidio in San Francisco, he unknowingly caught the Xerces blue that is now regarded as the last of its kind. Lange later commented on this and said:

A drawing of the possibly extinct Miller moth from 1895. The females were darker in coloration than the males. (© Werner & Winter, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

12. May 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Miller Moth

With the Miller moth, the Laysan Millerbird also went extinct The Miller moth, a nocturnal species also known as Miller or Laysan noctuid moth, was the main food source of the Laysan millerbird. When the moth went extinct, the bird disappeared as well. The Miller moth occurred exclusively on Laysan,

The day-flying Levuana moth had a wingspan of 16 millimeters. Its head and thorax were steel-blue, while abdomen and legs were ochre-colored. (© Rosa Henderson, Landcare Research, CC BY 3.0 AU, via Wikimedia Commons)

Insects

12. April 2018 Doreen Fräßdorf

Levuana Moth

A plague for the coconut industry Beginning around the 1870s, swarms of moths started destroying coconut plantations. In this way, the Levuana moth became a serious pest of coconut plants on Viti Levu, the main island of the Fiji group in the South Pacific. At first, the Levuana or coconut