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Field Guide Descriptions: Leckie and Beadle, 2018. | Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, GBIF, BOLD | Technical Description, Adults: Powell (1969) | Technical Description, Immature Stages: Powell (1969) | |
| Adult Markings: Adela caeruleella is easy to recognize based on the very elongated antenna, and a mixture of purplish, bronzy or greenish-purple coloration on the thorax and forewing. The upper head is reddish tan, and three indistinct metallic reddish striae are usually evident on the apical third of the wing. The males have an extremely long antenna that is three times or more as long as the forewing and darker near the base. Females have a shorter antenna (about 1.5 times the length of the forewing), with a thick layer of purplish black scales on the basal half that contrasts with the lighter and thinner apical half. |
| Adult Structural Features: Powell (1969) found that the 11 North American species of Adela have nearly identical male and female genitalia that have little value as taxonomic characters. Fortunately, all of the eastern species can be readily identified using color patterning. |
| Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens. |
| Immatures and Development: The larval life history is unknown, as is the case for many Adela species. Powell (1969) noted that the females of some species deposit their eggs into young seeds and the larvae eat the developing seed tissue. After a period of growth, the larvae then descend to the ground where they construct cases and feed on either the lower parts of plants or their fallen leaves. They then overwinter as larvae or pupae within their cases. The extent to which A. caeruleella conforms to this general life history pattern is unknown. |