Fan-foot Moth vs Karner Blue

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Fan-foot Moth Karner Blue
Scientific Name Zanclognatha tarsipennalis Plebejus samuelis
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Erebidae Lycaenidae
Size 26-32 mm wingspan 22-28 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Deserts & Drylands
Diet Herbivores Omnivores
Regions Europe Great Lakes and northeastern United States
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Fan-foot Moth

A subtle brown moth with fan-shaped palps and delicate wing markings. Found in woodland where dead leaves accumulate. Larvae feed on dead leaves on the woodland floor.

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Did You Know?

The males have distinctive enlarged fan-shaped labial palps that give this moth its common name.

Karner Blue

A tiny bright blue butterfly with orange crescents on the hindwing underside that depends entirely on wild lupine. It is a federally endangered species in the United States.

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Did You Know?

It was first described by novelist Vladimir Nabokov, who was also a serious lepidopterist at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology.