Concealer moth (Oecophoridae), Marojejy, Madagascar

I'm not sure if this is a moth or something else. It has a somewhat odd appearance, colorful with spiked legs. Any ideas?

comments (7)

RMFelix

Lion

Stunning moth! And tiny tiny tiny ;) My guess, Gracillariidae. But most probably it will be not the best guess ;)

http://www.gracillariidae.net/species/pictures Posted 9 years ago, modified 9 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  That is a most excellent "guess", I would have never found it, thanks! Posted 9 years ago

Christine Young

Lion

Maybe Oecophoridae. Posted 2 years ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Thank you. That looks like the proper direction, although they're not well documented on Madagascar. Posted 2 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Hence the 'maybe'. I couldn't find a single match, but the long antennae with white patch and the fluffy legs held out at a weird angle really seem like Oecophoridae.
    
    Another family with VERY similar moths is Stathmopodidae, but I could only find them recorded on mainland Africa and not on Madagascar.
    
    Adelidae has long antennae, but probably too long to match this moth. There are other families too, like Cosmopterigidae that has small, shiny moths. But the species in that family seem to have spiky legs, rather than legs with tufts of scales. Glyphipterigidae has small shiny moths, too, but not matching the distribution. Plus, I couldn't find any in that family with the white antennae bands.
    
    This is still a head scratcher. Most of the above mentioned families are in the superfamily Gelechioidea. So, at least that seems likely. I still think Oecophoridae is a good guess, but who knows. Posted 2 years ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Will put Oecophoridae in the title for now, thanks very much for the in-depth check! Posted 2 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        No prob. Posted 2 years ago

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