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Sticker of Beautiful plume moth
Bug card No. 0317 of 4,939

Beautiful plume moth

Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
Eats: PlantsMothsGardens and meadows6 legs

The beautiful plume moth is a slim, warm reddish-brown moth. Plume moths look like a little letter T when they rest, with long thin legs. Their wings are split into feathery parts.

Lives in
Europe, and also Iran and Georgia
Wingspan
1.7 to 2.3 cm (0.67 to 0.91 in)
Top speed
about 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting people, so you can watch it up close.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat many low plants, such as geraniums, mint, sage, lavender, heather and catnip.
For real!Photo of Beautiful plume moth
Picture by Patrick Clement from West Midlands, England. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Beautiful plume moth wings about 2.3 cm tip to tip (0.91 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
wings as wide as 4 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 34 seconds

How big is Beautiful plume moth compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It can be seen almost all year round, because the grown-up moths sleep through the winter.

2

It starts flying at dusk. In autumn it is often found on ivy.

3

It looks almost exactly like the brindled plume. To be really sure, experts have to study it under a microscope.

4

Its caterpillars even eat garden geraniums and lavender.

you asked

Most asked questions about Beautiful plume moth

?What does the beautiful plume caterpillar eat?

Many low-growing plants, including geraniums, mint, sage, lavender and heather.

?When can I see a beautiful plume moth?

Almost any month, because the adults spend the winter asleep and wake up in spring.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
Named by
Hübner, 1813
Group
Moths
Family
Pterophoridae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Pterophoridae
Lives on
Europe, Asia
Also known as
Beautiful plume

Where the facts come from

  1. Amblyptilia acanthadactyla (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Patrick Clement from West Midlands, England. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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