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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Mandibulate Archaic Moths (Micropterigoidea) » Mandibulate Archaic Moths (Micropterigidae) » Epimartyria » Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Hodges#0001 (Epimartyria auricrinella)

Species Epimartyria auricrinella - Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Hodges#0001

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
small iridescent moth - Epimartyria auricrinella Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Hodges#0001 - Epimartyria auricrinella Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Epimartyria auricrinella Pennsylvania Moth - Epimartyria auricrinella Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Epimartyria auricrinella Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Epimartyria auricrinella Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Epimartyria auricrinella orange-headed ermine or twirler moth? - Epimartyria auricrinella
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Micropterigoidea (Mandibulate Archaic Moths)
Family Micropterigidae (Mandibulate Archaic Moths)
Genus Epimartyria
Species auricrinella (Goldcap Moss-eater Moth - Hodges#0001)
Hodges Number
0001
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Epimartyria auricrinella Walsingham, 1898 (1)
Micropteryx auricrinella
Phylogenetic sequence #010001
Explanation of Names
Specific epithet from Latin aurum crinis meaning "golden-plumed" for the "bright golden" head. (1)
Numbers
Three species of the genus Epimartyria occur in America north of Mexico. (2)
Size
4 to 5 mm long.
Arnett (2000) listed the wingspan ± 8 mm. (3)
Davis & Landry (2012) reported the forewing length 4.2-5.6 mm. (2)
Identification
Forewing without spots and dark fuscous with a copper or purple sheen. The only species of the three without yellow spots. (2)
Adults have articulated mandibles instead of coiled probosis

Head: Light orangish-brown, long-haired or scaled. Mouth pale yellow.
Antenna: Base (scape) and pedicel light orangish-brown. Segments dark brown.
Thorax: Base more golden, the rest a coppery to purplish dark brown. Sides light orange-brown.
Wings: Forewings dark brownish-black with iridescent copper, gold and purple reflections. No marks or yellow spots. Fringe pale yellowish. Hindwings grayish, more iridescent at tips. Fringe gray.
Legs: Brownish-yellow.
Abdomen: Dark brown, long-scaled or hairy.
Similar Species: The other two species of Epimartyria have distinct yellow spots.
Range
Ontario to Nova Scotia and south to Tennessee and Georgia. (4), (5)
Also British Columbia and adjacent Washington.
Habitat
Heavily shaded mesic areas. Closed canopy mixed and coniferous forests. Shaded bogs and cedar swamps.
Food
The larvae are associated with Bazzania trilobata (liverwort).
Life Cycle
Larva take two years to develop.
Remarks
The adults are diurnal and are usually not attracted to lights. (2)
Types:
Holotype as Micropteryx (Epimartyria) auricrinella male by Walsingham, 1898. #35325. Locality: North Carolina, collected by H. K. Morrison. Genital slide #BM8947. In the British Museum of Natural History, London, England.
See Also
Doleromorpha porphyria
Print References
Walsingham, T. de Grey. 1898. Descriptions of a new micropterygid genus and species, and a new eriocraniad species from N. America. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 10(7): 162. (1)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (4)
Microleps.org
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (6)
Thomas de Grey Walsingham (Wikipedia)
Works Cited
1.Descriptions of a new micropterygid genus and species, and a new eriocraniad species from N. America.
Lord Walsingham. 1898. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 10(7): 161-163.
2.A review of the North American genus Epimartyria (Lepidoptera, Micropterigidae) with a discussion of the larval plastron
D.R. Davis, J.-F. Landry. 2012. ZooKeys 183: 37–83.
3.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
4.North American Moth Photographers Group
5.Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America
David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie. 2012. Houghton Mifflin.
6.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 1 June, 2012 - 9:59pm
Additional contributions by Randy Hardy, lee_penner
Last updated 21 November, 2017 - 1:43pm

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