Nepticulidae

Pohl, Greg, Anweiler, Gary, Schmidt, Christian & Kondla, Norbert, 2010, An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Alberta, Canada, ZooKeys 38 (38), pp. 1-549 : 50

4. Nepticulidae – pygmy eye-cap moths

Minute (3–10 mm wingspan) moths with variable wing patterns. Th ey can be separated from most other minute moths via the combination of the rough-scaled head, presence of an antennal eye cap, and primitive wing venation. Th ey can be separated from Opostegidae by the presence of extensive dark areas on the forewings. Larvae are leafminers.

Approximately 800 species of Nepticulidae are known worldwide, with many more remaining to be discovered. Ninety-seven species are known in North America. This family has been poorly collected in western North America; three species are reported from AB, but other species likely occur here as well. Th e Canadian Nepticulidae were revised by Wilkinson and Scoble (1979), but some of that work has been superseded by Wilkinson (1979, 1981), Wilkinson and Newton (1981), and Newton and Wilkinson (1982).