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Photo#244508
Fairy Moth - Adela purpurea - male

Fairy Moth - Adela purpurea - Male
Nosehill Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
May 29, 2008
Size: 7 mm long

Images of this individual: tag all
Fairy Moth - Adela purpurea - male Fairy Moth - Adela purpurea - male Fairy Moth - Adela purpurea - male

Moved
Moved from Adela.

Jason Dombroskie looked at the post and concurred that it looks like a really worn A. purpurea.

Adela purpurea?
This appears to be a (perhaps faded, or otherwise discolored?) male of Adela purpurea. Usually a conspicuous white transverse band is apparent in that species...of which there is only a slight intimation in your specimen. (Perhaps better focus and/or different lighting may have made the white band a bit more discernible in the photo?)

A. purpurea is the only species of Adela listed in the 2010 "An Annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Alberta, Canada" by Pohl et al(1)...which appears to be an impressively thorough work. And the Univ. of Alberta Museum has many specimens, including 1 from Calgary.

Did you find it near willows (Salix spp.)? That's the host plant, and this species is apparently usually found nearby to them.

The size of the eyes, and the black head and thorax...as seen in your 2nd image...compare favorably with Jason Dombroskie's post below:

   

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