Wheeleria spilodactylus

Last updated

Wheeleria spilodactylus
Wheeleria spilodactylus.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pterophoridae
Genus: Wheeleria
Species:
W. spilodactylus
Binomial name
Wheeleria spilodactylus
Curtis, 1827
Synonyms
  • Pterophorus spilodactylus
  • Aciptilus confusus

Wheeleria spilodactylus, the horehound plume moth, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae, first described by John Curtis in 1827. It is found in South-Western and Central Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and North Africa. It has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand (in 2018 by Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research) as a biocontrol agent for white horehound ( Marrubium vulgare ). [1]

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 6 Britishentomologyvolume6Plate161.jpg
Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 6
Depicted in William Buckler The larvae of the British butterflies and moths 1901 Fig. 7 larva after final moult 7a pupa Buckler W The larvae of the British butterflies and moths Plate CLXIV.jpg
Depicted in William Buckler The larvæ of the British butterflies and moths 1901 Fig. 7 larva after final moult 7a pupa

The wingspan is 20–25 millimetres (0.79–0.98 in). Adults are on wing from July to September depending on the location. [2]

The difficult to see larvae feed on black horehound ( Ballota nigra ) and white horehound.

References

  1. ↑ "The release and establishment of two biological control agents of horehound (Marrubium vulgare L.) in south-eastern Australia". Weed information. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Kimber, Ian. "Wheeleria spilodactylus (Curtis, 1827)". UKmoths. Retrieved 2 August 2020.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.