Many-plumed moths | |
---|---|
Twenty-plume moth (Alucita hexadactyla: Alucitidae) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Superfamily: | Alucitoidea |
Family: | Alucitidae Leach, 1815 |
Type species | |
Alucita hexadactyla | |
Diversity | |
9 genera, about 210 species | |
Synonyms | |
Alucitina Zeller, 1841 |
The Alucitidae or many-plumed moths[1] are a family of moths with unusually modified wings. Both fore- and hind-wings consist of about six rigid spines, from which radiate flexible bristles creating a structure similar to a bird's feather.
This is a small family, with about a global total of 210 species described to date (though it is likely that some undescribed species remain to be discovered). They are found mostly in temperate to subtropical (but not tropical) regions.