About Aristotelia elegantella (Chambers, 1874)
Aristotelia elegantella is a species of moth in the Gelechiidae family. It was first described by Vactor Tousey Chambers in 1874. This moth is found in North America, with confirmed records from Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Texas, and Utah. Its wingspan measures approximately 13 mm. The base of the forewings is narrow, white, and iridescent, and it is wider along the dorsal margin than the costal margin. After the base, an oblique ochreous or yellowish-orange band crosses the entire wing; this band is bordered by brown on its front and back edges, and is followed by a second oblique band that also crosses the wing and is white. This white oblique band is fairly widely bordered on its back edge by an iridescent brown line, which ends at a smooth tuft of raised scales on the dorsal margin. This smooth raised tuft, like the brown margins of the ochreous band, is metallic and strongly iridescent. The dark brown back margin of the second brown fascia extends backwards along the disc of the wing, angling toward but not reaching the base of the dorsal cilia. This margin holds three smooth metallic raised structures that match the one on the dorsal margin. The area of the wing between this margin and the costa is white, while the area between the margin and the dorsal margin is white and pale ochreous. The oblique streak ends just before the dorsal cilia at a curved fascia that curves very convexly toward the wing base. This curved fascia is reddish ochreous on the dorsal margin and brown on the costal margin. After the curved fascia comes another oblique fascia that lies closest to the wing tip on the costal margin. The costal portion of this final fascia is wide and white, while the dorsal portion is brown and appears brilliant metallic in some lighting. The brown portion is narrow where it connects to the white costal portion, and wraps around behind the white section to reach the costal margin. From there it curves backward as a narrow line around the apex at the base of the cilia, returning to its starting point on the dorsal margin. This shape encloses an oblong patch that is egg-yellow or golden, and runs parallel to the base of the dorsal cilia. In some lighting conditions, this fascia appears dull brown and not at all metallic, and the yellowish ochreous areas of the wing turn almost brick red.
