Micropterigidae
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Micropterix aruncella

(Scopoli, 1763) 4 / 1.004
Photo © Samantha Batty,  1st June, 2022, Austerfield, VC63.

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Micropterix calthella
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Express Record Micropterix aruncella

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Yorkshire Status: Fairly common resident.

Micropterix species are small, with glossy purplish or bronze-coloured wings held at a steep angle. They are a very primitive group of moths, with functioning jaws, feeding on pollen.

Porritt labelled this species as "apparently common everywhere" in 1907. It is still fairly common across the county, though we have few records from VC65. It seems to be happiest in open woodland, woodland edges and scrubby areas. The male is easy to identify however the female does not have the silver-white fasciae and looks very similar to Micropterix calthella. They can be told apart by looking at the base of the forewing. This is entirely purple in calthella but purple only on the costa in aruncella. Virtually all of our records are of day-flying moths though rarely it can be caught at light.

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: Widespread and common in all five vice-counties.

Recorded in 73 (37%) of 200 10k Squares.
First Recorded in 1859.
Last Recorded in 2024.
Additional Stats

< Micropterix aureatella  |  Micropterix calthella >
Wingspan: 6-8 mm
Flight: April - June.
Foodplant:   Feeds on the pollen of various herbaceous plants.
Nat Status: Common
Verification Grade:  Adult: 2
List Species Records   [Show All Latest]
Latest 5 Records
Date#VC10k Area
05/07/2024165SE09 - Redmire / Grinton
20/06/2024463SD93 - Wycoller
19/06/2024463SD93 - Wycoller
18/06/2024263SE02 - Halifax
15/06/2024263SD93 - Wycoller
  Immature   Adult   [Show Flight Weeks]
Show Details | 1990 to 2024 | 2000 to 2024 | Graph Key
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