Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Micropterigidae Scientific name Micropterix mansuetella | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Micropterix Rank Species | |
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Similar Micropterix aureatella, Micropterix aruncella, Micropterix calthella, Micropterix, Stigmella alnetella | ||
Micropterix mansuetella is a species of moth belonging to the family Micropterigidae. It is found primarily in freshwater wetlands and is distributed throughout northern, eastern, central and western Europe (including Great Britain and Ireland). The most southern occurrence is eastern Tyrol in Austria.
This is a small moth with a forewing length of 3.4–3.9 millimetres (0.13–0.15 in) for males and 3.8–4.2 millimetres (0.15–0.17 in) for females. It is largely bronzy-gold in colour with some reddish and purple markings. Its most distinctive feature is the dark coloured tuft of hair on its head: in most other Micropterix species of the region this tuft is much paler. Like other members of the family, this species has functional jaws and it feeds as an adult on pollen grains, mainly from the flowers of Carex species. The larva and pupa are unknown.