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Photo#527985
Tiny moth or butterfly - huge antennae - Adela trigrapha - male

Tiny moth or butterfly - huge antennae - Adela trigrapha - Male
Near Dog Mtn. summit, Skamania County, Washington, USA
June 12, 2011
Dog Mtn. is famous for flowers in spring. Because of epic snowpack and persistent cold weather, balsamroot bloom was peaking on June 9 2011, which is almost a month later than usual. Found this little scamper in a small meadow that was protected from the wind (winds were mild on June 9) by trees and topography. Look at the length of the antennae! We like butterflies but not experts by any means - would love to know what this is.

Difficult call...but balance tips towards A. trigrapha
Tentatively moved from Adela.

The relatively wide white bands on the wings here are suggestive of A. eldorada, a species known from spots in semi-shaded forest habitat to more or less open chaparral at lower to mid-montane elevations (1500'-6000'+) in the Sierra Nevada of California [cf. Powell(1)].

However, the key and species description/discussions in Powell(1) indicate that the lack of orange scales on the head; the unbroken 3rd wing band; the meadow habitat; and the WA location...all point to a male of A. trigrapha, a generally lower elevation species of meadows and grassy hillsides known from southern California to Vancouver Island [cf. Powell & Opler(2)].

Trying to assess whether one has an individual of A. eldorada or A. trigrapha can often be quite difficult...especially for populations far from the central Sierra Nevada (the area where A. eldorada was described from). For more details, see the comments thread under the post below (of a female from nearby your location here in WA) which is also difficult to place vis-a-vis trigrapha vs. eldorada:

   

...and, in particular, see my comment here

Moved
Moved from Moths.

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Looks like something in

 
Thanks for pointing us in the
Thanks for pointing us in the right direction, John -
Looks like maybe trigrapha? I googled pics of trigrapha; found some with orange head, others black. I guess they're one and the same??

 
Male vs. female dimorphism
Male A. trigrapha have mostly to entirely black scales on the crown of their heads.

Female A. trigrapha have mostly to entirely orange scales on the crown of their heads.

(In A. eldorada, both males & females have abundant orange scales on their crowns...though in females they're brighter orange and more abundant.)

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