Platyptilia farfarellus

Platyptilia farfarellus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pterophoridae
Genus:	Platyptilia
Species:	P. farfarellus
Binomial name
Platyptilia farfarellus Zeller, 1867
Synonyms
Platyptilia farfarella Platyptilia molopias Platyptilia periacta Meyrick, 1910 Platyptilia claripicta Fletcher, 1910

Platyptilia farfarellus is a moth of the Pterophoridae family. It is found from central and southern Europe to Asia Minor, Micronesia and Japan (the islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu). It is also known from Africa, where it has been recorded from Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, São Tomé & Principe, Tanzania, Uganda,^[1] the Seychelles and Malawi.^[2]

The length of the forewings is 7–11 mm.

The larvae feed on Calendula arvensis, Calendula officinalis, Callistephus chinensis, Centaurea cyanus, Dahlia pinnata, Emilia flammea, Erigeron canadensis, Erigeron linifolius, Helichrysum bracteatum and Senecio cruentus. They bore into the flower-bud, flower, terminal end of the stem or the fork of the stem of the host plant. When the larva bores into the stem, it makes a tunnel. The larva pupates within the stem or flower.

Taxonomy

Some authors consider Platyptilia molopias to be a synonym of Platyptilia farfarellus.^[3]

References

1. Afro Moths
2. Kovtunovich, Ustejuzhanin & Murphy, 2014.Plume moths of Malawi (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae). Zootaxa 3847 (4): 451–494 (11 Aug. 2014)(abstract)
3. On the fauna of the plume moths (Lepidoptera, Pterophoridae) of KwaZulu Natal province (South-African Republic)

External links

• Taxonomic and Biological Studies of Pterophoridae of Japan (Lepidoptera)
• Insects of Micronesia Volume 9, no. 3 Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae
• Japanese Moths
• Fauna Europaea