Twenty-plume moth
The twenty-plume moth is a tiny moth with a big surprise. Instead of four flat wings, it has about twenty thin, feathery plumes. When it sits, it spreads them out like a little striped fan.
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Fun facts
Its wings have a zigzag pattern of white, black and brown, with shiny little hairs on every plume.
Its scientific name hexadactyla means six-fingered.
It is common in gardens, but it is so small that most people never notice it.
You can find a grown-up moth at any time of the year.
Small holes and dark spots on honeysuckle buds show that its caterpillars are eating inside.
Most asked questions about Twenty-plume moth
?How many wings does the twenty-plume moth have?
It has about twenty thin feathery plumes instead of four normal wings.
?What does the twenty-plume moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat honeysuckle buds and leaves from the inside.
?Is the twenty-plume moth dangerous?
No. It is a tiny, harmless moth.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Alucita hexadactyla
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Alucitidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Alucitidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
- Also known as
- Many-plumed moth
Where the facts come from
- Alucita hexadactyla (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same 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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