Entomologists Discover New Species of Many-Plumed Moth

A species of many-plumed moth believed to be new to science has been discovered in South Africa.

Alucita udovichenkoi, an adult male. Image credit: Kovtunovich et al.

Alucita udovichenkoi, an adult male. Image credit: Kovtunovich et al.

Many-plumed moths, or the Alucitidae, are a small family with currently over 200 described species in nine genera.

These moths are found in temperate and subtropical — but not tropical — regions.

They often attract attention owing to their multi-plumed wing morphology.

The forewings and hindwings of these insects are divided, usually into six feathery plumes or lobes. Several species have seven lobes in the hindwing. When at rest they hold their wings outstretched.

Their tiny larvae tunnel in buds, seeds, leaves, shoots, and stalks of mainly herbaceous plants and shrubs, inducing a gall-like swelling.

“Many of many-plumed moths are inhabitants of open phytocenoses with herbaceous and shrub plants,” said lead author Dr. Vasiliy Kovtunovich and colleagues.

“They are active at dusk and night time, and are easily attracted by artificial light.”

The newfound species occurs in the province of Mpumalanga in South Africa.

Named Alucita udovichenkoi, it has a wingspan of 11 to 12 mm (0.4-0.5 inches).

The species’ wings are white with portions of brown scales and hairs.

The entomologists collected and studied three specimens of Alucita udovichenkoi in February 2019.

A paper describing the new species was published in the journal Ecologica Montenegrina.

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Vasiliy Kovtunovich et al. 2019. New species of many-plumed moths (Lepidoptera: Alucitidae) from the Republic of South Africa. Ecologica Montenegrina 26: 1-3

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