In a wood near Aljezur we saw this moth, best described as very hairy with very impressive antennae. Only after we got back home did we non-lepidopterists track down what it was. To confuse matters, it has recently had its name changed. We found a photograph online, also from Aljezur, of Ptilocephala albida. However, that species has been ‘split’ recently and the form in Portugal is now Ptilocephala lorquiniella.
The species is psychid moth, known collectively as bagworm moths since the larvae construct from silk and debris a case in which the rest and then pupate. Only adult males fly.
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