Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Many-plume Moths (Alucitoidea) » Many-plume Moths (Alucitidae) » Alucita

Genus Alucita

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited
Moth 06-Fenstad's Resort - Alucita Alucita adriendenisi Alucita montana Alucitidae: Alucita montana? - Alucita Plume moth - Alucita Alucita Montana - Alucita montana Alucitidae: Alucita montana - Alucita montana Alucitidae: Alucita montana - Alucita montana
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Alucitoidea (Many-plume Moths)
Family Alucitidae (Many-plume Moths)
Genus Alucita
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Alucita Linnaeus, 1758
Explanation of Names
Generic epithet Alucita is Latin meaning "gnat." (1)
Numbers
Landry & Landry (2004), and Powell & Opler (2009) listed 3 species of the genus Alucita in America north of Mexico. (2), (3)
Alucita montana Barnes & Lindsey, 1921
Alucita adriendenisi Landry & Landry, 2004
Alucita lalannei Landry & Landry, 2004
Landry & Landry (2004) also mention an undescribed species found in southern Florida.
Size
Wingspan 10-15 mm.
Identification
Adult: wings consist of unusual and diagnostic feather-like plumes (rigid spines from which radiate flexible bristles), normally spread apart like a fan when the moth is at rest; there are six plumes per wing, for a total of twenty-four

Larva: body pink, hides inside flowers of host plant, and pupates in a delicate fish-net cocoon
[Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Vancouver Island]
Range
Alucita montana: southwestern Quebec and Vermont, west to British Columbia, south to Arizona, California, and Texas.
Alucita adriendenisi: northwestern Quebec and New York, west to Alberta and Northwest Territories, with more southern populations (isolated?) in West Virginia, Arizona, and Texas.
Alucita lalannei: Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta.
An undescribed species has been collected in southern Florida.
The genus is also represented in Europe and several other regions of the world.
Habitat
The adults fly early in the evening or any time on cloudy days, and may sometimes be found in homes fluttering at windows.
Season
The adults fly in spring and again in late summer/fall.
Food
Alucita montana: larvae are associated with snowberry (Symphoricarpos spp.; Caprifoliaceae) in the north, and honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.) in California
Alucita adriendenisi: larvae feed on flowers of Limber Honeysuckle (Lonicera dioica) in Michigan
Alucita lalannei: host plant unknown
Remarks
Two new species were described by Bernard and Jean-François Landry in 2004, bringing the North American species total to three, none of which is Alucita hexadactyla (2)
Print References
Landry, B. & J. Landry, 2004. The genus Alucita in North America, with description of two new species (Lepidoptera: Alucitidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 136: 553-579. (2)
Works Cited
1.An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names.
Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.
2.The genus Alucita in North America, with description of two new species (Lepidoptera: Alucitidae)
Bernard Landry, Jean-François Landry. 2004. The Canadian Entomologist 136(4): 553-579.
3.Moths of Western North America
Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 6 February, 2006 - 1:47am
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, Maury Heiman, ceiseman, Randy Hardy
Last updated 30 October, 2014 - 10:02pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact