Stenoptilia millieridactyla

Stenoptilia millieridactyla, also known as the saxifrage plume is a moth of the family Pterophoridae first described by Charles Théophile Bruand d'Uzelle in 1859. It is found in Europe.

Stenoptilia millieridactyla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pterophoridae
Genus: Stenoptilia
Species:
S. millieridactyla
Binomial name
Stenoptilia millieridactyla
(Bruand, 1859)
Synonyms
List
    • Stenoptilia millieridactylus
    • Pterophorus millieridactyla Bruand d'Uzelle, 1861
    • Stenoptilia saxifragae T. B. Fletcher & Pierce, 1940[1]

Description

The wingspan is 17–20 mm. Adults are on wing in June and July, with a small second generation in late August and early September in some years.[2]

From late August the larvae feed on Saxifraga ragosoi, meadow saxifrage (Saxifraga granulata) and mossy saxifrage (Saxifraga hypnoides) including cultivars. They mine a number of leaves from the base upwards and hibernate in a hibernaculum in the heart of the plant. In spring, larvae feed externally on the plant and pupation takes place outside of the mine.[2][3][4]

Distribution

Stenoptilia millieridactyla is found in France, Great Britain, the Iberian Peninsula, Ireland and Italy.[5] Accidentally introduced to Great Britain in the 1960s and expanding its range. In Derbyshire the larvae have been found feeding on cultivars of mossy saxifrage in gardens.[4]

References
  1. Fletcher, T. Bainbrigge; Price, F. N. (1940). "A New Irish Plume-Moth (Lep., Alucit.) With a Note on its Genitalia". The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation. 52 (new series) (3): 25 – via Internet Archive.
  2. Kimber, Ian. "Stenoptilia millieridactyla (Bruand, 1861)". UKmoths. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  3. Ellis, W N. "Stenoptilia millieridactylus (Bruand, 1861)". Plant Parasites of Europe. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  4. Stirling, Phil; Parsons, Mark; Lewington, Richard (2012). Field Guide to the Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. Gillingham, Dorset: British Wildlife. p. 191. ISBN 978 0 9564902 1 6.
  5. "Stenoptilia millieridactylus (Bruand, 1861)". PESI Portal. Retrieved 6 July 2020.


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