Lepidoptera Nepticula Aurella Moth
The family Nepticulida-the last of the Tinea-contains a number of little moths, including the smallest of the Lepidoptera. Many of them are exceedingly beautiful, being decorated with various tints of a splendid metallic lustre, but their beauty is revealed only by the use of a magnifying lens, and they are so small that very great care and patience is required to set them properly.
They may be recognised by their short and thick antenna, rather large head, broad fore wings, and narrow pointed hind wings.
The larva have no true legs, but have nine pairs of very imperfectly developed claspers. They are leaf miners, and are sometimes so abundant that several may be found in a single leaf.
The species we have selected has fore wings of a rich golden brown, with deep violet tips, and a broad bar of pale golden yellow beyond the middle. It may be found throughout the spring and summer. The larva excavates long irregular burrows in the leaves of the bramble