FAMILY
Micropterygidae
TAXONOMY
Phalaena calthella Linnaeus, 1761, Sweden.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
German: Dotterblumen-Schabe.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Tiny moths, with a wingspan of 0.32–0.4 in (8–10 mm). Yellow head with a tuft of hairs, functional mandibles, and no proboscis. Metallic bronzy forewings with a purplish patch at the base, similar in venation to the hind wings, with which they are coupled through the jugum. Legs and abdomen are golden brown. Larvae have eight pairs of nonmuscular conical abdominal prolegs ending in a single claw. Pupae have free appendages and articulated mandibles, used to open the cocoon.
DISTRIBUTION
Europe to central Siberia in Asia.
HABITAT
Adults fly in damp and shady habitats, such as trails and the margins of forests. Larvae are secretive, burrowing through thick mats of leaf litter, mosses, or lichens as deep as 4 in (10 cm) in loose soil.
BEHAVIOR
Adults feed on flowers during the daytime and can be attracted to lights at night.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Adults feed on pollen from various plants with exposed flowers, from trees and shrubs to grasses; they have a preference for species of Ranunculaceae, a primitive group of angiosperms. Larvae are external feeders on decayed plant detritus, fresh leaves of angiosperms, liverworts, and possibly fungal hyphae.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Eggs are laid singly or in clusters of two to 45 on the food plant. Larval development takes from 132 to 141 days. It is thought that there are three larval instars, with the last one overwintering. Pupation occurs in early spring inside a silken cocoon on the ground or on detritus; adults emerge in spring and fly from May to June.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
