Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Genus Lithariapteryx

Unidentified dune moth - Lithariapteryx abroniaeella Tiny Moth - Lithariapteryx elegans Micromoth with iridescent spots--Lithariapteryx? - Lithariapteryx abroniaeella Lithariapteryx elegans Lithariapteryx elegans Flower Moth? - Lithariapteryx Lithariapteryx sp. - Lithariapteryx Lithariapteryx abroniaeella
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 Yponomeutoidea (Ermine Moths and kin)
Family Heliodinidae (Sun Moths)
Genus Lithariapteryx
Numbers
4 species in the genus: L. abroniaeella, L. elegans, L. jubarella, and L. mirabilinella.
Size
Microlepidoptera: FW lengths range from 2.8 to 5 mm, rarely to 8mm
Identification
Tiny, iridescent, diurnal moths, with distinctive raised, gem-like, lead- or silver-colored bumps on their forewings. When seen from behind, these bumps give the impression of the eyes of a jumping spider (Salticidae). Unlike many species in the family Heliodinidae, the adults of Lithariapteryx do not hold their legs aloft when perched (1)
Range
Western US and northwestern Mexico
Habitat
Sandy situations in association with their host plants Abronia ("sand verbena") and Mirabilis ("four o'clock" or "wishbone bush").
Food
Larvae are facultative leaf miners of Abronia or Mirabilis, both in the Four O'Clock family, Nyctaginaceae. Each species is primarily or exclusively associated with either Abronia or Mirabilis, but uses two or more species within the given genus.
Adults also principally found on Abronia and Mirabilis...but also recorded on plants in the following genera: Senecio, Hazardia Eriophyllum, Tetradymia (all in the Asteraceae), Croton, Larrea, Eriogonum, Erysimum, Hyptis, and Mesembryanthemum (a non-native "Ice Plant").
Remarks
Descriptions, general biology, keys, and illustrations for the genus appear in Powell (1991), see "Print References" below.
One of the four currently recognized species, Lithariapteryx mirabilinella Comstock, is suspected to be a seasonal or geographical form of Lithariapteryx abroniaeella Chambers. Again, see Powell (1991) in "Print References" below.
Print References
Powell, J. A. 1991. A review of Lithariapteryx (Heliodinidae), with description of an elegant new species from coastal sand dunes in California. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 45(2): 89-104
Powell & Opler(2), pg. 110
Internet References
Museum reference images of three of the species available online: Lithariapteryx abroniaeella; Lithariapteryx elegans; and Lithariapteryx mirabilinella.
All four species are represented by California specimens among the Essig Museum records for Lithariapteryx.
Works Cited
1.A review of Lithariapteryx (Heliodinidae) with description of an elegant new species from the coastal sand dunes in California.
Jerry A. Powell. 1991. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 45(2): 89-104.
2.Moths of Western North America
Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.