I just saw this record in #iNaturalist:

https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/200710267

It's the first in iNat for the plume #moth species Deuterocopus honoratus. Neither the #AtlasOfLivingAustralia nor @gbif currently has any records for the species. It may well be that this is the first record of the species since the type specimen was collected around Brisbane in March 1897. That specimen is in the Natural History Museum in London and clearly not one of those they have so far databased.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterocopus_honoratus

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9808840

https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/1b05e2a2-25fa-46bd-9b6f-ea18413b0cf3#overview

https://www.gbif.org/species/1858944

#Lepidoptera #Pterophoridae #PlumeMoth #entomology

Twenty-plume Moth, with wings more like a birds feathered wing, with 6 plumes on each forewing, hence its scientific name Alucita hexadactyla. UK's only member of this family, and it's larva feeds on Honeysuckle. Both common and beautiful. about 2cm across.
#Lepidoptera #Moth #PlumeMoth #Nature

I only use the front-facing camera on my phone for video-conferences. I never take selfies - who needs to see that ...

But this #Colombian #PlumeMoth (no species identification yet, but I did get some real photos of it) came indoors with me after I checked my #moth light last night.

I currently maintain the global species list for this family of moths:

https://pterophoroidea.hobern.net/catalogue.php

#Lepidoptera #entomology

Catalogue of the Pterophoroidea of the World updated.

New #PlumeMoth species from #SouthAfrica, Agistis zagulajevi:

https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873824040080

Changes to synonymy and new distribution records from #Georgia:

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14720696

This feeds into #CatalogueOfLife and @gbif.

Latest version available on #ChecklistBank:

https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/1199/about

#Lepidoptera #Pterophoridae #taxonomy #entomology #NewSpecies #BiodiversityInformatics @dhobern@scicomm.xyz

@dhobern@biodiversity.social

Still very quiet here. Frame 4 includes two of the commonest local #Geometridae

The larger greyish species is Phelotis cognata (Ennominae).

https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/321369-Phelotis-cognata

The smaller yellowish species is Scopula rubraria (Sterrhinae).

https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/244344-Scopula-rubraria

To the top left of the frame is one of the commoner local #PlumeMoth species Sinpunctiptilia emissalis.

https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/311353-Sinpunctiptilia-emissalis

the first time I saw a plume moth I thought it wasn't a living being. I simply thought it must be a piece of straw or a piece of dried plant matter. it wasn't. they are so incredibly intricate and beyond belief. and I got to capture another one on the common milkweed the other day! (one day I will get a macro camera so I can see them in all their glory!) #nativeplants #plumemoth #moths #insects #naturalist #rewilding #milkweed

At The City Park with Morning Glories and the Morning Glory Plume Moth

📷 Canon R10 Mirrorless - EF-S 17-135mm Lens - ISO:1250 - Aperture: f/9 Shutter Speed: Varied

#Photo #Photography #CityPark #Flowers #Insect #MoringGlory #PlumeMoth #Closeup #MILC #Mirrorless #CanonR10 #GiMP

Beautiful Plume Moth on Runner Bean!
#photo #photography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #ukwildlife #nature #naturephotography #outdoors #conservation #britishwildlife #britishwildlifephotography #moth #beautifulplume #beautifulplumemoth #plumemoth #insect #leaves #runnerbean

Beautiful Plume Moth on Runner Bean!
#photo #photography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #ukwildlife #nature #naturephotography #outdoors #conservation #britishwildlife #britishwildlifephotography #moth #beautifulplume #beautifulplumemoth #plumemoth #insect #leaves #runnerbean

This #iNaturalist record seems perhaps to be the first record of the #PlumeMoth Michaelophorus shafferi since it was described in 1999 from a single specimen collected in 1982. It's an unusual and attractive species.

https://inaturalist.org/observations/145319253

Two shots from #AutomatedMothTrap, Canberra ACT, 2022-12-12 02:57, 03:41

Image 1 includes:

First #stonefly (#Plecoptera) I've noticed on the sheet

#HawkMoth #Hippotion scrofa

#PlumeMoth #Stenoptilia zophodactylus

Pink-winged #Geometridae #Arhodia lasiocamparia

Tiny striped #GrassMoth #Scoparia spelaea

#Derbidae #Planthopper #Saccharodite chrysonoe

Other #Lepidoptera (Geometridae, #Oecophoridae, #Crambidae #Pyralidae), #Trichoptera, #Neuroptera, #Diptera and #Hemiptera

#entomology

@pogomcl It's hard to imagine many contexts where #PlumeMoth #larvae truly impact crop production. They are small and not conspicuously gregarious and/or voracious.

The Starfruit Plume Moth (#Diacrotricha fasciola, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/211098-Diacrotricha-fasciola) seems to be a pest because they bore into the fruit and presumably lower its marketability.

And two species have been introduced for biosecurity in #Australia (#Wheeleria spilodactylus for Marrubium vulgare, #Hellinsia balanotes for Baccharis halimifolia).

Google has selected a #PlumeMoth (#Lepidoptera: #Pterophoridae: Pterophorus pentadactyla) to represent the #insect order #Zoraptera.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Zoraptera

This surprised me greatly, but it seems zorapterans are "commonly known as angel insects" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoraptera), which was an even bigger surprise, and the plume moth image has been tagged "angel insect". After all, it is white and feathery and presumably suitable for inspirational posters.

Bring on the AI-powered knowledgeverse ...

Is #MothMonday a thing here? This is a mousy plume moth (Lioptilodes albistriolatus), a tiny species often found in this erect posture. It can do the typical "T" posture, too, like most #Pterophoridae. Wingspan is approximately 1 cm.

#Lepidoptera #entomology #PlumeMoth