Plume moth

Plume moth

Taxobox
name = Pterophoridae


image_width = 250px
image_caption = White Plume Moth, "Pterophorus pentadactyla"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
subordo = Ditrysia
superfamilia = Pterophoroidea
familia = Pterophoridae
familia_authority = Zeller, 1841
type_species = "Pterophorus pentadactyla"
diversity = 90+ genera
1,000+ species
diversity_link = Lepidopteran diversity
subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies
subdivision =
Agdistinae
Deuterocopinae
Macropiratinae
Ochyroticinae
PterophorinaeThe Pterophoridae or plume-moths are a family of Lepidoptera with unusually modified wings. The fore-wings consist of (usually) two curved spars with more or less bedraggled bristles trailing behind (compare the greater number of symmetrical plumes of the Alucitidae). The hind wings are similarly constructed on three spars. A few genera have normal lepidopteran wings.

The usual resting posture is with the wings extended laterally and narrowly rolled up. Often they resemble a piece of dried grass, and may pass unnoticed by potential predators even when resting in exposed situations in daylight. Some species have larvae which are stem- or root-borers while others are leaf-browsers.

Economically important pterophorids include the artichoke plume moth ("Platyptilia carduidactyla"), a pest in California, while the Geranium plume moth "Platyptilia pica" and the Snapdragon plume moth "Stenoptilodes antirrhina" can cause damage to their respective host garden plants. Other plume-moths have been used as biological control agents against invasive plant species - "Lantanophaga pusillidactyla" against shrub verbena "(Lantana camara)", and "Oidematophorus beneficus" against mist flower "(Ageratina riparia)".

For additional information and links to other plume moth sites, see: http://www.plumemoth.com/


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Plume moth — Plume Plume, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. {Fly}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather. [1913 Webster] Wings . . . of many a colored plume. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) An… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • plume-moth — plumeˈ moth noun Any moth of the families Pterophoridae and Orneodidae, with deeply cleft wings • • • Main Entry: ↑plume …   Useful english dictionary

  • plume moth — ▪ insect       any of about 1,000 species of delicate moths (order Lepidoptera) that are named for the deep wing divisions that resemble plumes or lobes. The clefts in the wings divide them for about half their length, with the forewings usually… …   Universalium

  • plume moth — noun : any of numerous small slender moths constituting the family Pterophoridae and usually having the wings deeply divided into two or more plumose lobes * * * n. a small, slender, long legged moth with narrow wings divided into feathery plumes …   Useful english dictionary

  • plume moth — noun a small, slender long legged moth with narrow wings divided into feathery plumes. [Family Pterophoridae.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • plume moth — noun Any one of numerous small, slender moths, belonging to the family Pterophoridae. Most of them have the wings deeply divided into two or more plumelike lobes. Some species are injurious to the grapevine …   Wiktionary

  • Plume — Plume, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. {Fly}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather. [1913 Webster] Wings . . . of many a colored plume. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) An… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Plume bird — Plume Plume, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. {Fly}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather. [1913 Webster] Wings . . . of many a colored plume. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) An… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Plume grass — Plume Plume, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. {Fly}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather. [1913 Webster] Wings . . . of many a colored plume. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) An… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Plume nutmeg — Plume Plume, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. {Fly}, v.] [1913 Webster] 1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather. [1913 Webster] Wings . . . of many a colored plume. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) An… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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