45.010 Amblyptilia acanthadactyla (Beautiful Plume)
ws: 17-23mm; bivoltine - Jul, Sep-May; various herbaceous plants; common throughout GB
ID: Very similar to A.punctidactyla. See Amblyptilia for detailed identification features.
A.acanthadactyla is red-brown; A.punctidactyla is grey-brown. The longest scales in the scale tooth on the 3rd lobe of the hindwing are less than 1.5x as long as the breadth of the 3rd lobe membrane in A.acanthadactlya and ~2x as long as the breadth of the membrane in A.punctidacyla.
Male genitalia: In A.acanthadactyla the spine of the cucullus is short, the sacculus is entire, the annellus arms are relatively straight and slender and the saccus has rounded lateral margins; in A.punctidactyla the spine of the cucullus is longer and slightly curved, the sacculus is incised at ~1/2, the annellus arms are curved and stout and the saccus has indented lateral margins.
Female genitalia: The posterior margin of lamina postvaginalis has a steep-sided "V"-shaped indentation in A.acanthadactyla and a shallower "U"-shaped indentation in A.punctidactyla. The lamina postvaginalis is relatively narrow in A.acanthadactyla.
A.acanthadactyla is red-brown; A.punctidactyla is grey-brown. The longest scales in the scale tooth on the 3rd lobe of the hindwing are less than 1.5x as long as the breadth of the 3rd lobe membrane in A.acanthadactlya and ~2x as long as the breadth of the membrane in A.punctidacyla.
Male genitalia: In A.acanthadactyla the spine of the cucullus is short, the sacculus is entire, the annellus arms are relatively straight and slender and the saccus has rounded lateral margins; in A.punctidactyla the spine of the cucullus is longer and slightly curved, the sacculus is incised at ~1/2, the annellus arms are curved and stout and the saccus has indented lateral margins.
Female genitalia: The posterior margin of lamina postvaginalis has a steep-sided "V"-shaped indentation in A.acanthadactyla and a shallower "U"-shaped indentation in A.punctidactyla. The lamina postvaginalis is relatively narrow in A.acanthadactyla.
§1 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 20/07/2007
§2 Removed §3 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 05/08/2009; male §4 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 02/07/2010 §5 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 13/03/2011 §6 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 15/04/2011; female §7 St Marys, Isles of Scilly; 15/09/2011; female §8 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 13/07/2013; male §9 Westcliff-on-sea, Essex; 13/07/2013; female All images © Chris Lewis |
§10 Arne, Dorset; 01/07/2016; female; fw 10.2mm; to light
§11 Foulness, Essex; 24/08/2019; male; fw 8.3mm §12 St Mary's, Isles of Scilly; 27/09/2023; male; fw 8.9mm |
Page published 31/03/2012 | §8&9 added 25/08/2013 | Text amended 20/12/2014 | §10 added and text amended 10/09/2016 |
§11 added 10/09/2019 | §12 added 31/12/2023
§11 added 10/09/2019 | §12 added 31/12/2023