Pterophoridae

45.006 Hoary Plume Platyptilia isodactylus (Zeller, 1852)

Notable B

Similar species:

Forewing: 9 to 14mm

Habitats: Marshes, fens, water meadows, damp coastal grassland, ditches, river-banks and damp deciduous woodland

Habits: The moth flies from dusk. It occasionally comes to light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds on the leaves and in the stems of Marsh Ragwort. The autumn generation larva overwinters at a stem base, then in the spring it feeds on the underside of a leaf and later bores a young stem. The summer larva bores a stem exuding frass at the leaf axil, then feeds on the flower-heads and seeds. It usually pupates in the stem, but occasionally it will pupate under a web on a leaf surface or on adjacent vegetation.