''Platyptilia isodactylus'' (ragwort plume moth or ragwort crown-boring plume moth) is a
moth of the family
Pterophoridae found in China, Europe and was introduced to Australia and New Zealand for
biological control. It was
first described by the
German 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 ...
s,
Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1852.
Description
The wingspan is 21-23 mm. The forewings are brown, the costa is anteriorly dark fuscous, whitish-sprinkled with a very ill -defined dark fuscous triangular blotch on costa beyond middle, the apex forming a distinct dot. There are faint traces of a pale subterminal line; apical 2/3 of terminal cilia white. The hindwings are dark fuscous scale-tooth moderate, in middle. The larva is pale green; dorsal line darker; subdorsal darker, whitish -edged above; lateral and spiracular faintly whitish; head and tubercles black..
Biology
Moths are on the wing in June and then again in August and September.
The larvae feed in the stems of ''
Senecio aquaticus
''Jacobaea aquatica'' or ''Senecio aquaticus'', the water ragwort or marsh ragwort, is a plant of the family Asteraceae. It is a perennial or biennial plant: young plants form a rosette near the ground, eventually producing a taller flowerin ...
.
Distribution
It is native to central Europe, Mediterranean
North Africa and southern Europe. It has also been recorded from
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It has been introduced in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand as a biological control agent for ragwort.
References
External links
Trin Wiki
Fact Sheet
Biological Control of Ragwort
isodactylus
Moths described in 1852
Moths of Africa
Moths of Australia
Moths of Asia
Moths of Europe
Taxa named by Philipp Christoph Zeller
{{Pterophoridae-stub