morning-glory plume moth

(Emmelina monodactyla)

Hodges #

6234

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

 
morning-glory plume moth
Photo by Barbara McEiver
 
Description

Morning-glory plume moth is a small, very common, and very widespread plume moth. It occurs in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. It occurs throughout most of the United States and southern Canada, but it is absent from the Great Basin. It is common in Minnesota. It is found wherever its host plants are found. The larvae feed mostly on bindweeds (Family Convolvulaceae), but also on a wide variety of other herbaceous plants.

Adults have a 1116 to 1 116 (18 to 27 mm) wingspan. They rest with their wings tightly rolled and held out at right angles to the body. This is the feature that is the source of one of its common names, “T-moth”. The size, background color, and markings are variable.

The abdomen has a pale stripe above, and there is a small, narrow, dark streak on each abdominal segment. The second and third abdominal segments are long.

The forewings are usually whitish or pale brown, but they can be darker. They are narrow at the base and are flared to at least twice as wide at the tip. They are deeply notched at the tip, dividing each wing into two lobes. The leading edge (costal margin) of each forewing is straight for three-quarters of its length, then convex to the tip. The inner margin is straight and slightly angles backward at the base. There is a black dot near the leading edge (costal margin) a little less than one-third the distance from the wing base; a small, dark, irregular spot near the base of the notch; two dark dots on the costal margin near the wingtip; and two or three dark spots on the lower edge (inner margin) near the tip. The markings vary in size and are sometimes indistinct.

The lobes of the hindwing are fringed with long, hair-like filaments, giving the lobe a plume-like appearance, and resembling a bird’s feather.

The legs are long, slender, and sometimes spiny. On the hind leg, the fourth segment (tibia) is two to three times longer than the third segment (femur). It has a single long spur at the tip and a pair of spurs near the middle (proximal spurs). The proximal spurs consist of a short lateral spur and a long medial spur. The medial spur is twice as long as the lateral spur.

 

Size

Wingspan: 1116 to 1 116 (18 to 27 mm)

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

Any habitat where its host plants are found

Biology

Season

Two generations per year

 

Behavior

 

 

Life Cycle

 

 

Larva Food

Mostly bindweeds (Family Convolvulaceae), but also a wide variety of other herbaceous plants.

 

Adult Food

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

21, 24, 29, 30, 75, 82, 83.

10/22/2024    
     

Occurrence

Very common and widespread

Taxonomy

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)

Superfamily

Pterophoroidea (plume moths and allies)

Family

Pterophoridae (plume moths)

Subfamily

Pterophorinae

Tribe

Oidaematophorini

Genus

Emmelina

   

The genus Emmelina was formerly placed in the tribe Pterophorini.

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Alucita monodactyla

Alucita pterodactyla

Emmelina barberi

Emmelina bidactyla

Emmelina cineridactylus

Emmelina flaveodactylus

Emmelina impersonalis

Emmelina naevosidactylus

Emmelina pergracilidactylus

Emmelina pictipennis

Emmelina pterodactyla

Phalaena bidactyla

Phalaena monodactyla

Pterophorus barberi

Pterophorus canescens

Pterophorus cineridactylus

Pterophorus didactyla

Pterophorus flaveodactylus

Pterophorus impersonalis

Pterophorus monodactylus

Pterophorus naevosidactylus

Pterophorus pergracilidactylus

Pterophorus pictipennis

   

Common Names

common plume moth (UK)

morning-glory plume moth

T-moth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Costal margin

The leading edge of the forewing of insects.

 

 

 

 

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Barbara McEiver

morning-glory plume moth
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Other Videos

Common Plume Moth Emmelina monodactyla emerging
jwentomologist

About

Oct 20, 2016

Common plume moth emerging from pupa attached to bindweed leaf Buckfastleigh, Devon 10 October 2016

Morning Glory Plume Moth (Pterophoridae: Emmelina monodactyla) on Leaf
Carl Barrentine

About

May 29, 2012

Photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (28 May 2012).

T-Moth - Emmelina monodactyla
AnimalandiaSCS

About

Mar 30, 2015

T-moth: polilla con las alas en forma de T

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pterophoridae
Genus: Emmelina
Species: Emmelina monodactyla

Emmelina monodactyla macro HD
Solito de Solis

About

Jul 4, 2013

Lépidoptère, Le Ptérophore commun (Emmelina monodactyla) est une espèce de lépidoptère de la famille des Pterophoridae
appelé aussi T-Moth or Morning-glory Plume Moth

 

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Barbara McEiver
10/9/2024

Location: St. Paul, MN

morning-glory plume moth
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Created: 10/22/2024

Last Updated:

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