Merrifieldia tridactyla

Merrifieldia tridactyla, also known as the western thyme plume, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae, first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758. It is known from most of Europe, as well as North Africa and Asia Minor.^[1]

Merrifieldia tridactyla
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pterophoridae
Genus:	Merrifieldia
Species:	M. tridactyla
Binomial name
Merrifieldia tridactyla (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
List Merrifieldia tridactylus Phalaena Alucita tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758 Pterophorus fuscolimbatus Duponchel, 1844 Pterophorus icterodactylus Mann, 1855 Alucita icterodactyla ab. noctis Caradja, 1920 Alucita spicidactyla flavella Chrétien, 1923 Alucita baliodactyla menthae Chrétien, 1925 Alucita icterodactyla philippsi Huggins, 1955 Aciptilia exilidactyla Buszko, 1975 Merrifieldia neli Bigot & Picard, 1989

Description

The wingspan is 18–23 millimetres (0.71–0.91 in). It is very similar to Merrifieldia leucodactyla Certain identification requires examination of the genitalia.^[2]

Adults are on wing from June to July in western Europe.

The larvae feed on Thymus species, including Breckland thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and common thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and mint (Mentha species) in Europe. In Saudi Arabia, larvae have been recorded feeding on the fruits of Cucurbita moschata.