Amblyptilia punctidactyla, also known as the brindled plume, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae found across the Palearctic (including Japan and Europe). The species was first described by the English entomologist, Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1811.[1] [2]
The wingspan is 18–. There are two generations per year in western Europe, with Adults on wing in July, and again from September to early-June, hibernating through the winter.[3] The imago of the brindled plume is similar in appearance to the beautiful plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla) but is darker appearing greyish-brown (cf. warm reddish-brown colour of the beautiful plume) and has distinct white speckling.[4] [5] Examination of the genitalia is required for certain identificationThe larvae feed on the flowers and unripe seeds of various herbaceous plants, but only on shaded plants.[5] Larval food plants include European columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris), common stork's-bill (Erodium cicutarium), meadow crane's-bill (Geranium pratense), bog-myrtle (Myrica gale), primroses (Primula species) and hedge woundwort (Stachys sylvatica).