Emmelina monodactyla

Emmelina monodactyla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pterophoridae
Genus: Emmelina
Species: E. monodactyla
Binomial name
Emmelina monodactyla
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena Alucita monodactyla Linnaeus, 1758
  • Phalaena bidactyla Hochenwarth, 1785
  • Alucita pterodactyla Hübner, 1805
  • Pterophorus flaveodactylus Amary, 1840
  • Pterophorus cineridactylus Fitch, 1855
  • Pterophorus naevosidactylus Fitch, 1855
  • Pterophorus impersonalis Walker, 1864
  • Pterophorus pergracilidactylus Packard, 1873
  • Pterophorus barberi Dyar, 1903
  • Pterophorus pictipennis Grinnell, 1908
  • Pterophorus monodactylus f. rufa Dufrane, 1960

The T-moth or morning-glory plume moth (Emmelina monodactyla) is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is found in Europe, Japan, central Asia, North Africa and North America.

The wingspan is 18–27 mm. The moths fly nearly year-round.

The larvae mainly feed on Convolvulaceae species, including Calystegia sepium, Calystegia spithamaea, Calystegia sodanella, Cynara cardunculus, Convolvulus arvensis, Convolvulus cantabrica, Convolvulus floridus, Convolvulus prostrates, Convolvulus tricolor, Ipomoea batatas, Ipomoea eriocarpa and Ipomoea purpurea, and also Atriplex (including Atriplex patula) and Chenopodium (including Chenopodium album) from the Amaranthaceae family and Datura stramonium and Hyoscyamus niger from the Solanaceae family.[1]

The moths are pale russet in colour, with a wingspan of 18–27 millimeters. The colouration is extremely variable, ranging from off-white with indistinct markings to a strong rust brown. The markings may vary considerably in size. The second and third abdominal segments are elongate. The caterpillars are greenish-yellow with a broad green band on the back, and a narrow broken yellow line running down the center. Some specimens may also have a wine-red marking on the back. The colour of the pupae may range from green to reddish brown, sometimes with black markings.

References

  1. ↑ Taxonomic study of the tribe Oidaematophorini (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) from Korea, with descriptions of the two new species
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