Blue Metalmark vs Acorn Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Blue Metalmark Acorn Moth
Scientific Name Lasaia sula Blastobasis glandulella
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Riodinidae Blastobasidae
Size 18-22 mm wingspan 15–22 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Woodlands
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions South Texas, Mexico, Central America Eastern North America
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Blue Metalmark

A tiny butterfly with vivid metallic blue upper wings that flash brilliantly in sunlight. It perches on rocks and gravel near streams in tropical forests.

💡

Did You Know?

Its brilliant blue iridescence is structural rather than pigmented, produced by nanoscale lattice structures in the wing scales.

Acorn Moth

A small moth whose larvae bore into and consume the contents of acorns on the forest floor. It is common in oak woodlands across eastern North America.

💡

Did You Know?

In heavy infestation years, it can destroy over half the acorn crop on the forest floor.