Morning-glory Plume Moth
Emmelina monodactyla
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- Up to 1 yr
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- Northern Hemisphere
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
The Morning-glory Plume Moth rests with its wings rolled into narrow feathery tubes, holding them out at right angles to form a distinctive T-shape. Its larvae are a common pest of morning glory and bindweed, found on every continent except Antarctica.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.cocoonA silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.mothA winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Pterophoridae
- Genus
- Emmelina
- Species
- Emmelina monodactyla