Verbena Moth
Crambodes talidiformis (Guenée, 1852), fam. Noctuidae, P-no. 932030
Host plants: Hosts solely on vervains Verbena spp.).
Date found(s): September 6, 2026
Location(s) found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: In the vast world of insects, where single families can contain tens of thousands of species, the verbena moth stands practically alone. It is a monotypic species, meaning the genus Crambodes contains no other living species anywhere else on Earth. Evolutionary biologists find monotypic lineages highly intriguing because they represent isolated branches of the evolutionary tree that have survived without diversifying into a larger cluster of related species.
