Elachista adscitella

Elachista adscitella
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Elachistidae
Genus:	Elachista
Species:	E. adscitella
Binomial name
	Elachista adscitella; Stainton, 1851
Synonyms
	Elachista (Aphelosetia) revinctella auct.;

Elachista adscitella is a moth of the family Elachistidae found in Europe.

Description edit

The wingspan is 9–11 millimetres (0.35–0.43 in). Adults are pale grey with a whitish head and a white transverse line across the center of the forewing. They are on wing from May to July and again in August in two generations per year.^[2]

The larvae feed on false-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), Carex elata, a bunch grass (Calamagrostis arundinacea), tufted hair-grass (Deschampsia cespitosa), wavy hair-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa), bearded couch (Elymus caninus), Festuca altissima, Festuca drymeja, giant fescue (Festuca gigantea), mountain melick (Melica nutans), wood mellick (Melica uniflora), wood millett (Milium effusum), Phleum species, broad-leaved meadow-grass (Poa chaixii), Poa remota, Sesleria albicans, Sesleria argentea, blue moor-grass (Sesleria caerulea) and Sesleria sadlerana. They mine the leaves of their host plant which consists of a gradually widening corridor. It may run up- or down-wards. The frass is deposited in the first part of the mine. Two to three larvae may occupy a single mine and more than one mine may be found in a single leaf.^[3] Larvae can be found from October to the end of May and from mid June to the end of July. Larvae of the first generation hibernate inside the mine.