Elachista griseella (Duponchel, 1843)

mine

Primary mines not known. Secondary mines are 35-45 mm long elongate blotches that usually descend from near the leaf tip, but sometimes are ascending. The mines never occupy the full width of the blade, but generally lie along the sides. Frass in a diffuse elongated stripe. Pupation external.

hostplants

Poaceae, oligophagous

Calamagrostis epigeios; Dactylis glomerata; Elytrigia repens; Festuca rubra; Poa pratensis.

Elymus repens is the main host plant; the species occurs on other plants only in periods of high population density (Buszko, 1989a). The reference to Avena in Denmark by Sønderup (1949a) cannot be accepted, because the species does not occur so far to the north.

phenology

Timing of early larval stages unknown; hibernation as intermediate larva. The larva resumes feeding in early April, and vacates the mine for pupation around the end of April (Buszko, 1989).

distribution within Europe

From France to Italy and the Ukraine (Fauna Europaea, 2009).

larva

Dull yellowish green; head light brown. See Buszko (1989a) for illustrations of the sclerites on pronotum, prosternum, and anal plate.

pupa

Illustrated by Buszko (1989a).

notes

Associated with nitrophilous plant communities in flood planes.

references

Baran, Mazurkiewicz & Pałka (2007a), Bidzilya, Budashkin & Zhakov (2016a), Buszko (1989a), Parenti & Varalda (1994a), Sønderup (1949a), Šumpich & Vítek (2014a).