Elachista utonella Frey, 1856

bog dwarf

mine

The mine begins somewhere halfway the blade as an upwards running corridor. After a while the direction reverses, and an elongate blotch develops occupying half the width of the leaf. Frass, light green at first, grey later, concentrated in the lowest part of the mine. Pupation external.

host plants

(Juncaceae, Poaceae), Cyperaceae; narrowly polyphagous

Carex acutiformis, brizoides, distans, disticha, echinata, elata, flacca, hirta, muricata & subsp. pairae, paniculata, remota, riparia, spicata, vesicaria; Festuca; Juncus gerardi; Scirus sylvaticus.

In Britain Carex acutiformis is the main host plant (Bland, 1996a).

phenology

How hibernation takes place is not clear. In Britain mines are found in March – May, but possibly the species has two generations in continental Europe (Bland, 1996a; Traugott-Olsen & Nielsen, 1977a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Phegea, 2010).

NE recorded (Kuchlein & de Vos, 1999a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2010).

LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2010).

distribution within Europe

From Fennoscandia to the Pyrenees and Italy, and from Ireland to Romania (Fauna Europaea, 2010).

larva

Yellowish green to greyish; head black, prothoracic plate light brown.

pupa

Described by Patočka (1999a) and Patočka & Turčáni (2005a).

synonyms

Biselachista utonella; Elachista paludum Frey, 1859.

notes

Doets (1949a) found the mines in Kortenhoef on Carex riparia, “….only on plants growing deeply hidden under willows ….”

references

Baran, Mazurkiewicz & Pałka (2007a), Bidzilya, Budashkin & Zhakov (2016a), Biesenbaum (1995b), Bland (1996a), Buhr (1935a), Doets (1949a), Ford (1943a), Harper (1995a), Hering (1957a), Huisman, Koster, van Nieukerken & Ellis (2009a), Kaila, Nupponen, Junnilainen, Nupponen, Kaitila & Olschwang (2003a), Kuchlein & Donner (1993a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Parenti & Pizzolato (2015a), Parenti & Varalda (1994a), Patočka (1999a), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a), De Prins (1998a), Robbins (1991a), Schütze (1931a), Sønderup (1949a), Sruoga & Ivinskis (2005a, 2011a), Szőcs (1977a, 1981a), Traugott-Olsen & Nielsen (1977a), Wörz (1957a).