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For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Metalmark Moths (Choreutoidea) » Metalmark Moths (Choreutidae)

Family Choreutidae - Metalmark Moths

Prochoreutis inflatella Moth on Mertensia franciscana - Caloreas Everlasting Tebenna Moth - Hodges#2647 - Tebenna gnaphaliella Peacock Brenthia - Brenthia pavonacella Apple Leaf Skeletonizer Moth - Choreutis pariana Pseudotebenna carduiella Tebenna gnaphaliella Skullcap Skeletonizer Moth (Prochoreutis inflatella) - Prochoreutis inflatella
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Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Choreutoidea (Metalmark Moths)
Family Choreutidae (Metalmark Moths)
Other Common Names
Metalmark Moths
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Choreutidae Stainton, 1854
Explanation of Names
Choreutidae from type genus Choreutis (Hübner), from Greek meaning "dancer." (1)
Numbers
32 species in 9 genera in 2 subfamilies in North America
8 genera belong to the subfamily Choreutinae; the other subfamily (Millieriinae) is represented by a single North American species, Phormoestes palmettovora, which occurs in Florida and was described by Heppner in 1982
Size
very small: wingspan less than 10 mm.
Identification
wings broad and square-tipped (giving a chunky appearance), and often containing reflective "metallic" spots or patches - hence the common name of Metalmark Moths
Print References
Borror and White 1998. A Field Guide to Insects(2)
Internet References
Predator Mimicry: Metalmark Moths Mimic Their Jumping Spider Predators
Moths Elude Spiders by Mimicking Them - John Roach, for National Geographic News
Works Cited
1.An accentuated list of the British Lepidoptera, with hints on the derivation of the names.
Anonymous. 1858. The Entomological Societies of Oxford and Cambridge.
2.A Field Guide to Insects
Richard E. White, Donald J. Borror, Roger Tory Peterson. 1998. Houghton Mifflin Co.
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 13 January, 2005 - 5:34pm
Additional contributions by john and jane balaban, Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, Maury Heiman, Randy Hardy
Last updated 19 July, 2014 - 6:40pm

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