''Porrittia galactodactyla'', also known as the spotted white plume, 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 The Pterophoridae or plume moths are a family of Lepidoptera with unusually modified wings. Though they belong to the Apoditrysia like the larger moths and the butterflies, unlike these they are tiny and were formerly included among the assemblag ...

. It is known from most of western and central Europe. It was first described by the Austrian

lepidopterists Lepidopterology ()) is a branch of entomology concerning the scientific study of moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies. Someone who studies in this field is a lepidopterist or, archaically, an aurelian. Origins Post-Renaissance, the ...

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 ...

and

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 20–25 mm. Adults are on wing in June and July in western Europe. The larvae make characteristic holes in the leaves of lesser burdock (''

Arctium minus ''Arctium minus'', commonly known as lesser burdock, little burdock, louse-bur, common burdock, button-bur, cuckoo-button, or wild rhubarb, is a biennial plant. This plant is native to Europe, but has become introduced elsewhere such as Australi ...

''), and possibly greater burdock (''

Arctium lappa ''Arctium lappa'', commonly called greater burdock, , edible burdock, lappa, beggar's buttons, thorny burr, or happy major is a Eurasian species of plants in the family Asteraceae, cultivated in gardens for its root used as a vegetable. It has b ...

''). In April the holes have a 2 mm diameter and by May the holes are about 8 mm. Pupation takes place on the underside of the leaf, mostly near the midrib.

References

External links

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