| Paraplatyptilia edwardsii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pterophoridae |
| Genus: | Paraplatyptilia |
| Species: | P. edwardsii |
| Binomial name | |
| Paraplatyptilia edwardsii (Fish, 1881) [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Paraplatyptilia edwardsii is a moth of the Pterophoridae family. It is found in North America (including Maine, Massachusetts and eastern Canada).
Moths comprise a group of insects related to butterflies, belonging to the order Lepidoptera. Most lepidopterans are moths, and there are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described. Most species of moth are nocturnal, but there are also crepuscular and diurnal species.
The Pterophoridae or plume moths are a family of Lepidoptera with unusually modified wings. Though they belong to the Apoditrysia like the larger moths and the butterflies, unlike these they are tiny and were formerly included among the assemblage called "microlepidoptera".
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.
The wingspan is 22–27 mm. The head and thorax are ochreous brown. The abdomen is ochreous and slender and the legs are ochreous brown. The forewings are reddish brown, but darker on the costa. There is a dark brown triangular costal spot, bordered on the outside by whitish scales. A small brown spot occurs near the hind margin at the basal fourth, another near the costa at the basal third, and a transverse white line at the apical third of the lobe. The fringes are whitish, with a patch of dark scales before and another just behind the apex of the costal triangle. The hind wings are reddish brown and the fringes brown, but whitish at the base of the hind margin. There is a small patch of dark scales just before the apex. [2]
The wingspan of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777-200 has a wingspan of 60.93 metres, and a wandering albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of 3.63 metres, the official record for a living bird. The term wingspan, more technically extent, is also used for other winged animals such as pterosaurs, bats, insects, etc., and other fixed-wing aircraft such as ornithopters. In humans, the term wingspan also refers to the arm span, which is distance between the length from one end of an individual's arms to the other when raised parallel to the ground at shoulder height at a 90º angle. Former professional basketball player Manute Bol stands at 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) and owns one of the largest wingspans at 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m).
