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

Elachista obliquella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Elachistidae
Genus:	Elachista
Species:	E. obliquella
Binomial name
Elachista obliquella Stainton, 1854
Synonyms
Biselachista obliquella Traugott-Olsen & Nielsen, 1977 Cosmiotes obliquella Clemens, 1860

Description

The wingspan is 8–10 millimetres (0.31–0.39 in).The head is ochreous- whitish. Antennae whitish-ringed. Forewings light grey, irrorated with blackish ;a nearly straight central whitish fascia, sometimes ochreous tinged,in male slenderer and sometimes interrupted ; tips of apical cilia whitish. Hindwings are grey. The larva is grey-greenish ; head pale brown; 2 with two brown spots.[1]

Biology

Adults are on wing from April to July and again in August in two generations per year.[2]

The larvae feed on tor-grass (Brachypodium pinnatum), false-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), Bromopsis erecta, Bromopsis ramosa, reed grass (Calamagrostis species), acute sedge (Carex acuta), Carex hudsonii, Carex ornithopoda, Carex spicata, Carex sylvatica, cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata), tufted hairgrass (Deschampsia cespitosa), fescue (Festuca species), wood-barley (Hordelymus europaeus), crested hair-grass (Koeleria macrantha), melic (Melica species) milletgrass {Milium species) and broad-leaved meadow-grass (Poa chaixii). They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a narrow, brown, ascending corridor and most of the frass is deposited in the basal part. Later, the larva leaves this mine and makes a new mine in another leaf. This mine is an elongated, somewhat inflated blotch which occupies nearly the entire width of the leaf.[3] They are dull grey green with a light brown head. Larvae can be found from autumn to mid-May and again in July.

Distribution

It is found from Scandinavia to the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and Romania and from Ireland to Ukraine. It is also found in Russia.

References

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