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Photo#1079159
fairy moth (Adela sp.) on Triteleia hyacinthina - Adela eldorada - male

fairy moth (Adela sp.) on Triteleia hyacinthina - Adela eldorada - Male
Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (4000'), Yosemite National Park, Tuolumne County, California, USA
May 25, 2015
Size: 1-2 cm
I've narrowed this down to either Adela eldorada or Adela trigrapha, but I've no idea how to tell the difference between those two. I'm assuming it's male because of the ridiculously long antennae.

Moved
Moved from Adela.

A. trigrapha and A. eldorada are very similar looking, though in the literature A. eldorada is only recorded from the central western Sierran Nevada at middle elevation (in accord with the post here).

Females of both species have bright orange scales on the top of the head (crown & frons) ...but, in males, the crown of A. trigrapha is mostly to entirely black, whereas in A. eldorada it's mostly to entirely orange. Also, females of both species have smaller eyes and shorter antennae than the males. The eye size and antenna length here suggest a male.

The combination of 1) substantial orange-red scales on the crown; 2) mid-elevation central-western Sierra Nevada location; and 3) fairly wide white wing bands...all make A. eldorada the best match match here.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

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