Family Adelidae - Fairy Moths

formerly considered a subfamily of Incurvariidae

Adela is a Spanish feminine proper name with some historical significance: Saint Adela, etc. (Based on Internet searches.)

Borror (1) has a listing for adelo: Greek, meaning unknown, secret. (That is likely the origin of the name above.)

all North American genera in this family belong to subfamily Adelinae

18 species in 3 genera in North America listed at All-Leps

Arnett lists three genera and 17 species. (2)

wingspan 4-28 mm

small moths with very long antennae (3 times as long as forewing in males, and 1 to 2 times as long as forewing in females); basal half of antennae hairy in females

much of North America

also occurs in Eurasia

deciduous forests?

adults fly from April to June (Adela flys in April and May in North Carolina, Minnesota, eastern US)

larvae reported to feed on leaf fragments on ground

adults may take nectar from flowers of herbaceous plants as well as trees such as willow

Larvae make silken cases (3).

Adelidae was formerly considered a subfamily (Adelinae) of Incurvariidae but was given family status in 1999 by D.R. Davis in the work by N.P. Kristensen cited under Print References below. That classification is followed by All-Leps and by Charles Covell on page xi in the 2nd edition of A Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2005)

Arnett, p. 659. (2)

Borror, listing for adelo (1)

Brimley, p. 313, lists Adela bella (Raleigh, etc. April, May). This is a synonym of A. caeruleella, see this listing of synonyms. (4)

Covell, pp. 454-455 Incurvariidae. (3)

Davis, D.R. in Kristensen, N.P. (Ed.) 1999. Lepidoptera: Moths and butterflies. Volume 1: Evolution, systematics and biogeography. Handbook of Zoology. 491 pp. Walter de Gruyter. Berlin/New York.

live adult image of Adela septentrionella and other info (Jeremy Tatum, Butterflies and Moths of Southern Vancouver Island)

pinned adult image of Adela purpurea (Insects of Cedar Creek, Minnesota)

pinned adult image of Adela purpurea (Christian Guay, Insects of Quebec)

pinned adult images of male and female undetermined Adela species (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)

North Carolina State University Entomology Collection lists in Incurvariidae, but only one genus and species from Adelidae for the state: Adela caeruleella (14 specimens pinned)

live adult images of 6 European species in 3 genera (Jeff Higgott, UK Lepidoptera)

pinned adult image of female of the European species Adela croesella showing hairy base of antennae (B. Gustafsson, Sweden)

classification of Adela in family Adelidae by Davis, in Kristensen, 1999 (Butterflies and Moths of the World)