''Platyptilia calodactyla'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Pterophoridae found in Asia and Europe. It was first described by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

Michael Denis Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis, also: ''Sined the Bard'', (27 September 1729 – 29 September 1800) was an Austrian Catholic priest and Jesuit, who is best known as a poet, bibliographer, and lepidopterist. Life Denis was born at Schärding ...

Ignaz Schiffermüller Ignaz Schiffermüller (born 2 October 1727 in Hellmonsödt; died 21 June 1806 in Linz) was an Austrian naturalist mainly interested in Lepidoptera. Schiffermüller was a teacher at the Theresianum College in Vienna. His collection was presented ...

in 1775.

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) 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 , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 18–25 mm. ''Platyptilia calodactyla'' differs from ''

Platyptilia gonodactyla ''Platyptilia gonodactyla'', also known as the triangle plume, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae found in Palearctic, temperate Asia and Europe. It was Species description, first described by the Austria, Austrian entomologists, Michael Denis ...

'' as follows : forewings with termen distinctly less sinuate, apical spot in cilia lighter and apex appearing less falcate, colour rather darker and more ochreous tinged, less strigulated with white, especially posteriorly.

Biology

Adults are single brooded and emerge in June and July. The larvae feed in the stem of European goldenrod (''

Solidago virgaurea ''Solidago virgaurea'', the European goldenrod or woundwort, is an herbaceous perennial plant of the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across most of Europe as well as North Africa and northern, central, and southwestern Asia (China, Russia, ...

''), ''

Senecio nemorensis ''Senecio nemorensis'' is a species of perennial plant from the family Asteraceae that can reach in height. The plant is native to Europe and Asia, where it can be found growing at elevation . References nemorensis Diana Nemorensis ("Dia ...

'', heath groundsel ('' Senecio sylvaticus'') and leopard's bane (''

Doronicum ''Doronicum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, known as leopard's bane. They are all herbaceous perennials native to Europe, southwest Asia and Siberia. They produce yellow, daisy-like flowerheads in spring and summer. ...

'' species), sometimes causing wilting of the leaves.

Distribution

It is found in most of Europe, except

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It has also been recorded from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

.Notes on the tribes Platyptiliini and Exelastini from Iran (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae)

References

External links

microlepidoptera.nl
calodactyla Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Moths described in 1775 Taxa named by Michael Denis Taxa named by Ignaz Schiffermüller {{Pterophoridae-stub