Micropterix elegans is a species of moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 belonging to the family Micropterigidae

Micropterigidae

Micropterigoidea is the superfamily of "mandibulate archaic moths", all placed in the single family Micropterigidae, containing currently about 20 living genera. They are considered the most primitive extant lineage of Lepidoptera ....

. It was described by Stainton in 1867. It is known from Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

.

Adults are important pollinators of Cyclamen persicum

Cyclamen persicum

Cyclamen persicum, the Persian cyclamen, is a perennial growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to above sea level from south-central Turkey to Israel and Jordan. It also grows in Algeria and Tunisia and on the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos, and Crete,...

. They feed on pollen, copulate and oviposit within the flowers. From the rarity of buzz-pollination on their host plant, it is thought that the genus Cyclamen

Cyclamen

Cyclamen is a genus of 23 species of perennials growing from tubers, valued for their flowers with upswept petals and variably patterned leaves...

co-evolved with large bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

s capable of buzz-pollination, but lost its original pollinators for unknown historical reasons. The vacant niche was then open to various unspecialized pollen consumers such as thrips

Thrips

Thrips are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings . Other common names for thrips include thunderflies, thunderbugs, storm flies, thunderblights, and corn lice...

, hoverflies and small solitary bees. These are not specific to C. persicum and seem to play a minor role only, while M. elegans strictly relies upon Cyclamen and seems to be the most efficient pollinator.