Smallest moth

Of the 180,000 species of Lepidoptera documented, the smallest-known moths sit within two families: Gracillariidae (leaf miner moths) and Nepticulidae (pygmy moths). Species from both have been found to possess minimum forewing measurements of 1.2–1.3 mm (0.047–0.051 in) and total wingspans as tiny as 2.6–2.8 mm (0.10–0.11 in). A comprehensive overview that reviewed previously published findings and independently examined 650 different species in order to narrow down the world's smallest micro-moths was published in the journal Zootaxa on 12 March 2021.

Standout species that might be eligible for the crown of the smallest moth species overall include Stigmella maya of Mexico, the pygmy sorrel moth (Johanssoniella (=Enteucha) acetosae) of Europe and Porphyrosela alternata of South-east Asia, all of which have documented specimens with wingspans in the lower 2.6–2.8-mm bracket.

The academic review into the smallest moths published in Zootaxa was led by the Institute of Ecology of Nature Research Centre in Lithuania.

At the other end of the scale, the title of largest moth also has several viable contenders. Most widely cited is the atlas moth (Attacus atlas), found natively in South-east Asia, with a not-uncommon wingspan of 30 cm (11.8 in). The rare owlet moth (Thysania agrippina), aka white witch, of Central and South America has also had a wingspan of 30.8 cm (1 ft 1 in) reported for a female found in 1934 and several other more recent examples just below the 30-cm mark.

The Hercules moth (Coscinocera hercules) of tropical Australia and New Guinea, meanwhile, has a slightly smaller wingspan of 28 cm (11 in) but a total wing area of up to 263.2 cm² (404.5 sq in). Males also have a long swallowtail which makes them the largest in terms of length. In 1948, an unconfirmed wingspan of 36 cm (1 ft 2 in) was reported for a female captured in the coastal town of Innisfail in Queensland, Australia.