Lyonetiidae, Stainton, 1854

Pohl, Greg, Anweiler, Gary, Schmidt, Christian & Kondla, Norbert, 2010, An annotated list of the Lepidoptera of Alberta, Canada, ZooKeys 38 (38), pp. 1-549 : 66

23. Lyonetiidae – lyonetiid moths

Minute (4–11 mm wingspan) moths with narrow lanceolate wings. Adults have an enlarged first antennal segment, which forms an eye cap, and they often have a large tuft of scales on the vertex of the head. Externally, they are very similar to gracillariids and bucculatricids, but can be distinguished by the head, which is dorsoventrally flattened, rather than round (in gracillariids) or triangular and hypognathous (in bucculatricids). Larvae are leafminers or twig miners.

Approximately 210 species of lyonetiids are known worldwide, from all regions. Twenty-two species are known in North America; two of these are known from AB, and other species will likely be discovered in the province as well. Th e group is in need of revision; the only taxonomic work in the past 50 years is by Schmitt et al. (1996), who dealt with one species.