We investigated mechanisms underlying distribution of an archaic moth, Micropterix maschukella, among inflorescences of the adult's principal food plant, common elder Sambucus nigra. Moths aggregate on certain inflorescences within a plant, preferring inflorescences at early stages of flowering. Females visit inflorescences to feed with pollen; they do not search for conspecific groups and even avoid densely populated inflorescences. In contrast, males visit inflorescences mainly for mating; they feed only seldom and preferentially land on inflorescences with high number of conspecific individuals. Mating was more frequent on inflorescences with higher density of moths. Mating strategy of morphologically archaic Micropterigidae, classified as 'explosive breeding strategy', has significantly deviated from pheromone-mediated location of females which is considered ancestral for the order Lepidoptera.