Elachista bisulcella

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

Elachista bisulcella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Elachistidae
Genus:
Elachista
Species:
E. bisulcella
Binomial name
Elachista bisulcella
(Duponchel, 1843)
Synonyms
  • Lita bisulcella Duponchel, 1843
  • Elachista zonariella Tengström, 1848

Description

The wingspan is 8–10 millimetres (0.31–0.39 in).[1]The head is dark grey, face whitish. Forewings are dark fuscous, blackish-sprinkled ; a hardly curved whitish central fascia, edged with yellow posteriorly, broader towards dorsum ; tips of apical cilia whitish. Hindwings are dark grey.The larva is grey-green; head pale brown ; 2 with two brown spots.[2]

Biology

Adults are on wing at the end of June and again in August in two generations per year.[3]

The larvae feed on false-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), wood small-reed (Calamagrostis epigejos), upright sedge (Carex stricta), tufted hair-grass (Deschampsia cespitosa) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine has the form of a descending and widening corridor. In the end, it has the form of an elongate blotch that may occupy the entire width of the leaf. The frass is deposited in elongate lumps in the centre of the mine.[4] Larvae can be found from autumn to June. The species overwinters within the mine. They are dull grey green with a pale brown head.

Distribution

Found in Europe from Fennoscandia to the Pyrenees, Italy and Romania and from Ireland to Poland.

References
  1. "Elachista bisulcella". UK Moths. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  2. Meyrick, E., 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera MacMillan, London pdf This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Keys and description
  3. "Elachista bisulcella (Duponchel, 1843)". Micro Lepidoptera.nl. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  4. "Elachista bisulcella (Duponchel, 1843)". Bladmineerders.nl. Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
Mined leaf of Deschampsia caespitosa
Larva


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