Micropterix calthella

Micropterix calthella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Micropterigidae
Genus:	Micropterix
Species:	M. calthella
Binomial name
Micropterix calthella (Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms
Phalaena (Tinea) calthella Linnaeus, 1761 Tinea urticella Costa, 1834 Eriocephala sulcatella Bentley, 1845 Micropteryx silesiaca Toll, 1942 Tinea pusilella Hübner, 1813 Micropterix pusilella (Hübner, 1813)

Micropterix calthella, the marsh marigold moth, is a species of moth belonging to the family Micropterigidae. It is found in damp habitats throughout Europe (except for the far south) and is also distributed eastwards to central Siberia.

Illustration from John Curtis's British Entomology Volume 6

This rather small moth has a forewing length of up to 4.6 millimetres (0.18 in) and a wingspan of 8–10 millimetres (0.31–0.39 in). This is one of the more plainly marked Micropterix species of Europe, with rather dark bronze-coloured forewings with distinctive purple bases. Like other members of the family, this species has functional jaws and it feeds as an adult on pollen grains from a wide variety of plants such as Acer, Ajuga, Caltha, Cardamine, Carex, Crataegus, Mercurialis and Ranunculus.

Micropterix calthella - Lissan House, Cookstown, Northern Ireland; feeding on pollen of Ranunculus repens.

External links

• Micropterix calthella on Fauna Europaea
• Micropterix calthella at Naturhistoriska riksmuseet

Further reading

• Zeller-Lukashort, H. Christof; et al. (2007). "A review of Micropterix Hübner, 1825 from northern and central Europe (Micropterigidae)" (PDF). Nota Lepidopterologica. 30 (2): 235–298.