Amblyptilia punctidactyla

Amblyptilia punctidactyla
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pterophoridae
Genus: Amblyptilia
Species:
A. punctidactyla
Binomial name
Amblyptilia punctidactyla
(Haworth, 1811)
Synonyms
List
    • Alucita punctidactyla Haworth, 1811
    • Alucita cosmodactyla Hübner, 1819
    • Alucita ulodactyla Zetterstedt, 1840
    • Platyptilus cosmadactylus var. stachydalis Frey, 1872
    • Platyptilus moerens Snellen, 1884
    • Platyptilia jezoensis Matsumura, 1931
    • Platyptilia bella Yano, 1963

Amblyptilia punctidactyla, also known as the brindled plume, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae found across the Palearctic (including Japan and Europe). The species was first described by the English entomologist, Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1811.[1][2]

Amblyptilia punctidactyla male genitalia

Description

The wingspan is 18–23 millimetres (0.71–0.91 in). There are two generations per year in western Europe, with Adults on wing in July, and again from September to early-June, hibernating through the winter.[3] The imago of the brindled plume is similar in appearance to the beautiful plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla) but is darker appearing greyish-brown (cf. warm reddish-brown colour of the beautiful plume) and has distinct white speckling.[4][5] Examination of the genitalia is required for certain identification

Figs 6, 6a larva after final moult

The larvae feed on the flowers and unripe seeds of various herbaceous plants, but only on shaded plants.[5] Larval food plants include European columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris), common stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), meadow crane's-bill (Geranium pratense), bog-myrtle (Myrica gale), primroses (Primula species) and hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica).

References

  1. ^ "Japanese Moths". jpmoth.org. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Amblyptilia punctidactyla (Haworth, 1811)". Fauna Europaea. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  3. ^ Kimber, Ian. "Amblyptilia punctidactyla (Haworth, 1811)". UKmoths. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  4. ^ Kimber, Ian. "Amblyptilia acanthadactyla (Hübner, [1813])". UKmoths. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b Stirling, Phil; Parsons, Mark; Lewington, Richard (2012). Field Guide to the Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. Gillingham, Dorset: British Wildlife. p. 190. ISBN 978 0 9564902 1 6.