1.001 BF1

Micropterix tunbergella

(Fabricius, 1787)

Wingspan 8-11 mm. An attractive little moth, with purplish markings on a metallic golden ground colour and orange-tufted head. It is a day-flying species and moths are on the wing in June and July. It has been recorded from Wales and most English counties but is scarce or unknown in Scotland and Ireland. Like others in the genus, the life history of the early stages is more or less unknown, but the adult moths feed on the pollen of various flowers, chiefly those of oak (Quercus), sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and hawthorn (Crataegus).