Cool Bugs You've Almost Certainly Never Heard Of
You could be forgiven for never having heard of micro moths. They're easy to miss — with wingspans less than an inch across and bodies less than half that in length. But the little critters come in splashy colors and are thought to have been critical for helping plants cross-pollinate and evolve. This year, six new micro moth species were discovered — five in Costa Rica and one in Mexico and the southern U.S. The species discovered earlier bear such fanciful names as the marbled orchard tortrix, the common yellow conch and the light brown apple moth. No such luck yet for the newbies — all of which go by such Latinate handles as E. costaricae and E. icaruselli. Still, their distinctive colorations will probably help them pick up fancier nicknames over time — provided anyone squints hard enough to see them.