Jelly Kids...

When one enters the "world of pain" known as microlepidoptera one has to familiarize oneself with a bewildering array of obscure-looking families. One such family is the gelechiidae, or, as they say in UK the "jelly kids". I like the latter name better since all the moths concerned ARE rather small. This is a huge group of moths, many of which are similar-looking and difficult to identify with certainty. Most of them have rather narrow wings and upward-pointing labial palps.

I've only recently discovered the joys of this group and have decided to share a couple of images with you. I kind of hope they are correctly identified and if you spot any errors, well, that's what the comment section is all about...


This is Gnorimoschema semicylcionella. It doesn't have a common name and I don't know much about it - sorry! Nice-looking moff though. Photographed in Brooklin, Ontario last year.


This one is Aristotelia roseosuffusella. I photographed this one just this morning in my back yard. The larvae feed on clover whilst the adult is on the wing most of the summer.`


Finally we have Metzneria lappella. This one is fairly common, even in Toronto. The larval foodplant are the burs of Burdock and the adult is on the wing mid-summer.