Amblyptilia pica

Amblyptilia pica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pterophoridae
Genus:	Amblyptilia
Species:	A. pica
Binomial name
Amblyptilia pica (Walsingham, 1880)[1]
Synonyms
Amblyptilus pica Walsingham, 1880 Platyptilia pica Platyptilia monticola Grinnell, 1908 Platyptilia crataea T.B. Fletcher, 1940 Platyptilia pica calisequoiae Lange, 1950 Platyptilia pica marina Lange, 1950 Platyptilia pica sierra Lange, 1950

The geranium plume moth (Amblyptilia pica) is a moth of the Pterophoridae family. It is found in western North America from Alaska to California, inland to Alberta and Kansas. It is also found in the north-eastern United States and Ontario.^[2]

The wingspan is 18–23 millimetres (0.71–0.91 in).^[3] Adults have dark grey forewings mottled with black. They are on wing in spring and fall and have been recorded feeding on the flower nectar of Salix species.

The larvae feed on Scrophulariaceae, Geraniaceae, Primulaceae, Labiatae and Caprifoliaceae species, including Castilleja species, Pedicularis furbishiae and Scrophularia californica, Penstemon whippleanus. They feed externally on the foliage and flower buds of their host plant, but also bore into the seedpods^[4] and mine the leaves. The species overwinters as an adult.

Taxonomy

A number of subspecies has been described, but it is unclear which, if any, are still valid:

• Amblyptilia pica pica
• Amblyptilia pica calisequoiae (Lange, 1950)
• Amblyptilia pica marina (Lange, 1950)
• Amblyptilia pica sierrae (Lange, 1950)
• Amblyptilia pica monticola (Grinnell, 1908)
• Amblyptilia pica crataea (Fletcher, 1940)

References

1. mothphotographersgroup
2. "Amblyptilia pica". Bug Guide. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
3. "The pterophoridae of North America". Biodiversity Library. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
4. University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum