Meadow Long-horn Cauchas rufimitrella
The Meadow Long-horn is a small species. The wingspan is 10 to 12 mm only. It is a kind of brass green or red copper in colour. The antennae are long (after all this is a Long-horn moth) up to twice the size of the forewing in males, less long though in females. Like some other family members it flies by day. Adults are usually seen on the foodplant of the larvae: cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratense) or garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), they rarely visit other flowers.
The larvae feed on the seeds of the host plant, then pupates. The pupa overwinters, producing new adult animals, appearing in May. And that is when to see them: in May, sometimes in the first two weeks of June. It is a common species all over Europe, including the southern half of Britain.
Cauchas rufimitrella was formerly known as Adela rufimitrella.
