Pterophoridae
White Plume Moth, Pterophorus pentadactyla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Ditrysia Superfamily: Pterophoroidea Family: Pterophoridae Zeller, 1841
Diversity
90+ genera 1,000+ species
Type species
Pterophorus pentadactyla
Subfamilies
Agdistinae Deuterocopinae Macropiratinae Ochyroticinae Pterophorinae

The Pterophoridae or plume-moths are a family of Lepidoptera with unusually modified wings. Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " Insects ( Class Insecta) are a major group of Arthropods and the most diverse group of Animals on the Earth with over a million described Lepidoptera is an order of Insect that includes Moths and butterflies. The Ditrysia are a natural group or clade of Insects in the Lepidopteran order containing both butterflies and Moths Philipp Christoph Zeller ( April 8, 1808 - March 27, 1883) was a German Entomologist. This is a list of the Diversity of the Lepidoptera showing the estimated number of genera and species described for each superfamily and where available family In biology a type is that which fixes a name to a Taxon. Depending on the nomenclature code which is applied to the organism in question a type may be a specimen A moth is an Insect closely related to the Butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Lepidoptera is an order of Insect that includes Moths and butterflies. The fore-wings consist of (usually) two curved spars with more or less bedraggled bristles trailing behind (compare the greater number of symmetrical plumes of the Alucitidae). The Alucitidae or many-plumed moths are a family of Moths with unusually modified wings. The hind wings are similarly constructed on three spars. A few genera have normal lepidopteran wings.

The usual resting posture is with the wings extended laterally and narrowly rolled up. Often they resemble a piece of dried grass, and may pass unnoticed by potential predators even when resting in exposed situations in daylight. Some species have larvae which are stem- or root-borers while others are leaf-browsers.

Economically important pterophorids include the artichoke plume moth (Platyptilia carduidactyla), a pest in California, while the Geranium plume moth Platyptilia pica and the Snapdragon plume moth Stenoptilodes antirrhina can cause damage to their respective host garden plants. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. Gardeners often use the name "geranium" to mean Pelargonium: see below. Other plume-moths have been used as biological control agents against invasive plant species - Lantanophaga pusillidactyla against shrub verbena (Lantana camara), and Oidematophorus beneficus against mist flower (Ageratina riparia). Lantana is a Genus of about 150 Species of perennial Flowering plants native to tropical regions of the Americas

For additional information and links to other plume moth sites, see: http://www.plumemoth.com/

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