Borkhausenia minutella

Borkhausenia minutella is a species of moth. Within its superfamily, it is placed within the subfamily Oecophorinae of the "concealer moth" family, Oecophoridae.[1]

Borkhausenia minutella
Adult B. minutella at Hellerup (Denmark)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Oecophoridae
Genus:	Borkhausenia
Species:	B. minutella
Binomial name
Borkhausenia minutella (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Phalaena minutella Linnaeus, 1758

It is found in Europe, where it is most commonly found in rural landscapes. It is to some extent synanthropic, being regularly found around traditional farms. But apparently, this species is not able to tolerate industrial agriculture well: it has been declining across its range during the 20th century, and it is nowadays entirely extinct in the United Kingdom, where it used to be common in past times, but has not been seen since about 1950.[2]

This is a small moth, with a wingspan of 10–14 millimetres (0.39–0.55 in). Its overall coloration is a dark and somewhat metallic slate grey, with two large pale yellow markings on each forewing. The adults fly from May to June depending on the location. The caterpillars feed on seeds and other dry plantstuffs such as dried fruit; they have also been recorded in chicken (Gallus gallus) nests.[3]