Oxyptilus pilosellae (hieracium plume moth) is a moth of the family Pterophoridae first described by Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1841. It is found in most of Europe, east to Russia and Asia Minor. It was released as a biological control agent for Hieracium in New Zealand in 1998.
Oxyptilus pilosellae | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Pterophoridae |
Genus: | Oxyptilus |
Species: | O. pilosellae |
Binomial name | |
Oxyptilus pilosellae (Zeller, 1841) | |
Synonyms[1] | |
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The wingspan is 15–24 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August in western Europe.
Young larvae feed within the roots of hawkweeds (Hieracium species), including mouse-ear hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella). Later instars feed on the flowerheads, beneath a silken web.[2]
Taxon identifiers |
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