Platyptilia gonodactyla
Encyclopedia
Platyptilia gonodactyla is a moth
of the family Pterophoroidea. It is found in the Palearctic ecozone.
The wingspan
is 22–28 mm. The moth flies from May to October depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Coltsfoot
and sometimes also Common Butterbur
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a small, transparent, irregularly shaped full depth mine. There are often several mines in a single leaf. The frass
is granular. There is little or it is missing completely. After some time the larvae leave the mines and continue feeding freely at the leaf underside or under a folded leaf margin.
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 family Pterophoroidea. It is found in the Palearctic ecozone.
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 22–28 mm. The moth flies from May to October depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Coltsfoot
Coltsfoot
Tussilago farfara, commonly known as Coltsfoot, is a plant in the family Asteraceae.It has been used medicinally as a cough suppressant. The name "tussilago" itself means "cough suppressant." The plant has been used historically to treat lung ailments such as asthma as well as various coughs by way...
and sometimes also Common Butterbur
Common Butterbur
Common Butterbur is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and northern Asia. The flowers are produced in the early spring, before the leaves appear; they are pale pink, with several inflorescences clustered on a 5-20 cm stem...
. They mine
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...
the leaves of their host plant. The mine consists of a small, transparent, irregularly shaped full depth mine. There are often several mines in a single leaf. The frass
Frass
Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...
is granular. There is little or it is missing completely. After some time the larvae leave the mines and continue feeding freely at the leaf underside or under a folded leaf margin.