Eriocraniidae is afamily ofmoths restricted to theHolarctic region, with six extant genera.[2][3] These small, metallic moths are usually day-flying, emerging fairly early in the northern temperate spring. They have aproboscis with which they drink water or sap. The larvae areleaf miners onFagales, principally the trees birch (Betula) and oak (Quercus), but a few onSalicales andRosales.[4]
Moths in this family arediurnal, flying in the spring at dawn, and in sunshine, sometimes in swarms around host trees. They sometimes come tolight and also rest on twigs and branches. By tapping branches over a beating tray, they fall and remain motionless. The moths are small with a forewing length of 4–7 mm. Forewings marking are shining pale golden or purple and often mottled. The purple moths can be difficult to tell apart with certainty and may require genitalia examination. The female moth has a piercingovipositor and the almost colourless eggs are laid in theparenchyma of a leaf or in a leaf bud. The white or grey larvae form large blotches in the leaves containing intertwining strands offrass.Pupa aredecticous in a tough, silkencocoon in the soil.[5][6]
^Sterling, Phil; Parsons, Mark;Lewington, Richard (2012).Field Guide to the Micro moths of Great Britain and Ireland. Gillingham, Dorset: British Wildlife. p. 48.ISBN978-0-9564902-1-6.
^Smith, Frank."Microlepidoptera (Micro-Moths)".Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders.Archived from the original on 13 November 2019. Retrieved22 December 2021.
