David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
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Moths 74 – Twenty-plume or Many-plumed Moths
TWENTY-PLUME
OR MANY PLUMED MOTH Alucita hexadactyla
TWENTY-PLUME
OR MANY PLUMED MOTH Alucita hexadactyla TWENTY-PLUME
OR MANY PLUMED MOTH Alucita hexadactyla
·
Some rather mysterious nomenclature has been used
for the widespread and common ‘Twenty-plume
Moth’ version of
the vernacular name applied to Alucita hexadactyla, as it is quite clear that there are twenty-four
‘plumes’, a consequence of the division of each of the four wings into six separated,
but overlapping ‘feathers’, each consisting of a vein equipped with numerous
extended scales. The specific name refers to the structure of each individual
wing, so this is accurately used. Apart from anything else, this means that
each wing has an enormous surface area, presumably with a biological purpose –
the most likely being related to pheromones. So perhaps the second commonly
applied common name of ‘Many-plumed
Moth’ describes
this moth more accurately, but less so than ‘Twenty-four-plumed Moth’ might have done. Regardless of these semantics,
this feature makes this familiar moth, the only British representative of the
family Alucitidae, instantly
recognisable. The larvae are leaf-miners of Honeysuckles Lonicera spp. These moths may be seen throughout the year, and
they are readily attracted to light, meaning that opportunities may arise to
photograph their undersides!
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