''Cirrhophanus pretiosa'' is a

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

first described by

Herbert Knowles Morrison Herbert Knowles Morrison (January 24, 1854 – June 15, 1885) was an American entomologist and professional collector of insects. He was one of the founding members of the Cambridge Entomological Club, Massachusetts. Morrison was born in Boston, t ...

in 1875. It is found in North America, including

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. It was considered a synonym of '' Cirrhophanus triangulifer'' for some time, but was elevated from synonymy by Robert W. Poole in 1995.

References

* Stiriinae Moths described in 1875 {{Stiriinae-stub