Cauchas rufimitrella

Cauchas rufimitrella is a diurnal lepidopteran from the family Adelidae, the fairy long horn moths. It is found in almost all of Europe, except Portugal, Ukraine and the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula.^[1]

Cauchas rufimitrella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Adelidae
Genus:	Cauchas
Species:	C. rufimitrella
Binomial name
Cauchas rufimitrella (Scopoli, 1763)
Synonyms
Phalaena rufimitrella Scopoli, 1763 Adela reskovitsiella Szent-Ivany, 1945 Adela rufimitrella Scopoli, 1763 Adela uhrikmeszarosiella Szent-Ivany, 1945

The wingspan of the moth ranges from 10 to 12 millimeters. The thick erect hairs on the head vertex are black, more or less ferruginous-mixed above. Antennae in male 2 [2x the length of the wing], in female 1.5, black, tip whitish. The forewings are shining brassy bronze, sometimes partly or wholly coppery or metallic red purple. The hindwings are dark purplish fuscous.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The flight time is May to June.

Caterpillars live on the seeds of Cardamine pratensis and then they pupate over the winter.

Gallery

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  Mating pair
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  Larva
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  A sprig of Cardamine pratensis
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  Larval case