Emmelina monodactyla

Emmelina monodactyla
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pterophoridae
Genus:	Emmelina
Species:	E. monodactyla
Binomial name
	Emmelina monodactyla; (Linnaeus]], 1758)
Synonyms
	List 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; ;

Emmelina monodactyla (also known as the T-moth or morning-glory plume moth) is a moth of the family Pterophoridae found in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758.

Description

The wingspan is 18–27 mm. The moths fly nearly year-round.^[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 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..^[2]

Biology

The larvae feed from May to September in two overlapping generations.^[1] They mainly feed on Convolvulaceae species, including hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium), low false bindweed (Calystegia spithamaea]], sea bindweed (Calystegia soldanella), field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), Cantabrican morning glory (Convolvulus cantabrica), Convolvulus floridus, Convolvulus prostratus, dwarf morning-glory (Convolvulus tricolor), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), Ipomoea eriocarpa and common morning-glory (Ipomoea purpurea). They also feed on Atriplex species, including common orache (Atriplex patula) and Chenopodium, including fat-hen (Chenopodium album) from the family Amaranthaceae, cardoon (Cynara cardunculus) from the family Asteraceae, and thorn apple (Datura stramonium) and henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) from the family Solanaceae.^[3]

Emmelina and eggs
Caterpillar
Pupa
Adult at rest

Distribution

It is found in Europe, central Asia, Japan, North Africa and North America.

References

^ ^a ^b Kimber, Ian. "Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)". UKmoths. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
^ Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description
^ Kim, Sora; Byun, Bong-Kyu; Park, Kyu-Tek; Lee, Seunghwan (2010-05-24). "Taxonomic study of the tribe Oidaematophorini (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) from Korea, with descriptions of the two new species". Journal of Natural History. 44 (23–24): 1377–1399. doi:10.1080/00222931003679006.

External links

[ukmoths-1] Kimber, Ian. "Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)". UKmoths. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

[2] Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description

[3] Kim, Sora; Byun, Bong-Kyu; Park, Kyu-Tek; Lee, Seunghwan (2010-05-24). "Taxonomic study of the tribe Oidaematophorini (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae) from Korea, with descriptions of the two new species". Journal of Natural History. 44 (23–24): 1377–1399. doi:10.1080/00222931003679006.

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