Platyptilia cretalis is a moth

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 the Honshu

Honshu

is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...

, Kyushu

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 and Tsushima

Tsushima

-Places:* Tsushima, Nagasaki, a city in Nagasaki Prefecture * Tsushima Basin, also known as Ulleung Basin, located at the juncture of the Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait* Tsushima Island, part of Nagasaki Prefecture...

 islands of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

The length of the forewings is 9-12 mm. Adults are on wing from May to September.

The larvae feed on the flowering legume Desmodium racemosum. They feed on the sprout, terminal young leaf and usually the terminal stem of the host plant. The pupa attaches itself to the under surface of the midrib of a leaf and directs to the base of a leaf.

External links

• Taxonomic And Biological Studies Of Pterophoridae Of Japan (Lepidoptera)
• Japanese Moths