Wheeleria spilodactylus (the horehound plume moth) is a moth of the family Pterophoridae, first described by John Curtis in 1827. It is found in South-Western and Central Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and North Africa. It has been introduced to Australia as a biocontrol agent for white horehound (Marrubium vulgare).[1]
Wheeleria spilodactylus | |
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Species: | W. spilodactylus |
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Wheeleria spilodactylus Curtis, 1827 | |
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![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Britishentomologyvolume6Plate161.jpg/200px-Britishentomologyvolume6Plate161.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Buckler_W_The_larv%C3%A6_of_the_British_butterflies_and_moths_Plate_CLXIV.jpg/175px-Buckler_W_The_larv%C3%A6_of_the_British_butterflies_and_moths_Plate_CLXIV.jpg)
The wingspan is 20–25 millimetres (0.79–0.98 in). Adults are on wing from July to September depending on the location.[2]
The difficult to see larvae feed on black horehound (Ballota nigra) and white horehound.
References
External links
- Species info Archived 2009-09-24 at the Wayback Machine