Hellinsia helianthi
Encyclopedia
The Sunflower Plume Moth (Hellinsia helianthi) is a moth
of the Pterophoridae family. It is found in California
(including the type location, the Siskiyou Mountains
), Colorado
, British Columbia
and Alberta
.
The wingspan
is 21-29.5 mm. The head is brown, but whitish between the antennae. These are whitish with brown dots above. The thorax is concolorous with the forewings and the abdomen is similar above with dark grey brown dorsal dots, forming a broken dorsal line. The forewings are brownish white to tawny with some scattered dark brown scales. There is sometimes a small dot near middle of the cell and a dark dash on the costa over the base of the cleft, but both are often lacking. A short distance before the cleft and slightly toward the inner margin there is a rounded dark brown spot, rather well defined, which may be extended as much as half way to the costa by an oblique line of dark scales. The fringes are concolorous, those in the cleft with dark areas. The hindwings are grey brown and the fringes are slightly more tawny.
The larvae feed on Helianthus
species.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Pterophoridae family. It is found in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(including the type location, the Siskiyou Mountains
Siskiyou Mountains
The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal mountain range in the northern Klamath Mountains in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, California northeast along the north side of the Klamath River into...
), Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 21-29.5 mm. The head is brown, but whitish between the antennae. These are whitish with brown dots above. The thorax is concolorous with the forewings and the abdomen is similar above with dark grey brown dorsal dots, forming a broken dorsal line. The forewings are brownish white to tawny with some scattered dark brown scales. There is sometimes a small dot near middle of the cell and a dark dash on the costa over the base of the cleft, but both are often lacking. A short distance before the cleft and slightly toward the inner margin there is a rounded dark brown spot, rather well defined, which may be extended as much as half way to the costa by an oblique line of dark scales. The fringes are concolorous, those in the cleft with dark areas. The hindwings are grey brown and the fringes are slightly more tawny.
The larvae feed on Helianthus
Helianthus
Helianthus L. is a genus of plants comprising 52 species in the Asteraceae family, all of which are native to North America, with some species Helianthus L. is a genus of plants comprising 52 species in the Asteraceae family, all of which are native to North America, with some species Helianthus...
species.