Verna's flower moth (Schinia verna) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 3

COSEWIC Executive Summary

Verna's Flower Moth
Schinia verna

Species information

Verna's Flower Moth is a small, day-active, owlet moth. The forewings are contrastingly marked with olive-brown and maroon on a white background. The hindwings are black and white, giving the moth an overall checkered appearance.

Owlet moths have a worldwide distribution and are one of the most speciose (having many species) moths. They are generally stout-bodied and medium-sized. Almost all owlets feed on plants and include the economically important cutworm moths.

Verna’s Flower Moth was described as a new species relatively recently (1983). Not many data on its biology and distribution have accumulated. The moth’s apparently restricted range and habitat requirements may explain the paucity of records.

Distribution

Verna’s Flower Moth occurs in the Canadian prairie provinces from southern Manitoba to southeastern Alberta. It may be a Canadian endemic species.

Habitat

Verna’s Flower Moth inhabits sparsely vegetated prairie grasslands where colonies of pussytoes, the larval foodplant, occur.

Biology

Unlike most moths, Verna’s Flower Moth is active only during the day. Moths, like butterflies, have a life cycle consisting of complete metamorphosis from egg to larva to pupa to adult. This life cycle takes one year to complete. Adults have been collected from the third week of May to mid-June. Their flight period is closely synchronized with the blooming of pussytoes, the larval food plant. The larvae are known to feed only on the seeds and flowers of pussytoes. Pupae overwinter in shallow underground chambers.

Population sizes and trends

No data are currently available.

Limiting factors and threats

The occurrence of Verna’s Flower Moth is undoubtedly limited by the availability of appropriate native prairie grassland with populations of the food plant. More specific data on host plant and habitat requirements are needed. Light to moderate grazing may be necessary to maintain larval food plant patches of suitable size and quality.

Special significance of the species

The known global range of Verna’s Flower Moth is restricted to the Canadian prairie grassland and parkland region. There are currently four localities from which the moth has been recorded.

Existing protection or other status designations

There are no existing status designations and no specific protection for this species.

COSEWIC History

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) was created in 1977 as a result of a recommendation at the Federal-Provincial Wildlife Conference held in 1976. It arose from the need for a single, official, scientifically sound, national listing of wildlife species at risk. In 1978, COSEWIC designated its first species and produced its first list of Canadian species at risk. Species designated at meetings of the full committee are added to the list. On June 5, 2003, the Species at Risk Act (SARA) was proclaimed. SARA establishes COSEWIC as an advisory body ensuring that species will continue to be assessed under a rigorous and independent scientific process.

COSEWIC Mandate

The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assesses the national status of wild species, subspecies, varieties, or other designatable units that are considered to be at risk in Canada. Designations are made on native species for the following taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, arthropods, molluscs, vascular plants, mosses, and lichens.

COSEWIC Membership

COSEWIC comprises members from each provincial and territorial government wildlife agency, four federal agencies (Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada Agency, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Federal Biodiversity Information Partnership, chaired by the Canadian Museum of Nature), three non-government members and the co-chairs of the species specialist and the Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge subcommittees. The Committee meets to consider status reports on candidate species.

Definitions (november 2004)

Wildlife Species
A species, subspecies, variety, or geographically or genetically distinct population of animal, plant or other organism, other than a bacterium or virus, that is wild by nature and it is either native to Canada or has extended its range into Canada without human intervention and has been present in Canada for at least 50 years.

Extinct (X)
A wildlife species that no longer exists.

Extirpated (XT)
A wildlife species no longer existing in the wild in Canada, but occurring elsewhere.

Endangered (E
A wildlife species facing imminent extirpation or extinction.

Threatened (T)
A wildlife species likely to become endangered if limiting factors are not reversed.

Special Concern (SC) *
A wildlife species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

Not at Risk (NAR)**
A wildlife species that has been evaluated and found to be not at risk of extinction given the current circumstances.

Data Deficient (DD)***
A wildlife species for which there is inadequate information to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction.

* Formerly described as “Vulnerable” from 1990 to 1999, or “Rare” prior to 1990.
** Formerly described as “Not In Any Category”, or “No Designation Required.”
*** Formerly described as “Indeterminate” from 1994 to 1999 or “ISIBD” (insufficient scientific information on which to base a designation) prior to 1994.

The Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, provides full administrative and financial support to the COSEWIC Secretariat.

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