Oxyptilus parvidactyla, also known as the small plume, is a moth of the family Pterophoridae found in Africa, America latina, Asia and Europe.[1] It was first described by Adrian Hardy Haworth in 1811.
The wingspan is 13–. The forewings are darkreddish-fuscous, somewhat white-sprinkled. There two distinct white bars on the segments. The cilia with patches of black scales, costal and dorsal barred with white. The hindwings are dark fuscous, the third segmentdark reddish-fuscous, with an apical patch of black scales in upper cilia and a whitish spot in apical cilia. There is a large, black, apical dorsal scale-tooth.[2] This moth is similar looking to other related species and can only be safely identified by dissection, or by rearing the larvae on known foodplants.[3]
Adults are on wing from May to August in western Europe and there is one generation per year.[4] Early instar larvae feed on the young leaves of Hieracium species, including mouse-ear hawkweed (Hieracium pilosella) and possibly smooth hawkweed (Hieracium laevigatum).[5] Later instars feed on the flowerheads.
The small plume is found in almost all of Europe, as well as Russia, Asia Minor and North Africa.