Elachista flammula
Encyclopedia
Elachista flammula is a moth
of the Elachistidae
family. It is found in the Australian Capital Territory
.
The wingspan
is 9-10.3 mm for males and 6.9-9.3 mm for females. The forewings are yellow, powdered with dark brownish grey-tipped scales in males. The hindwings are grey.
The larvae feed on Carex polyantha. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine is straight and reaches a length of about 150 mm. Several larvae may be found on a single leaf. Pupation takes place outside of the mine, along the fold of the leaf.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Elachistidae
Elachistidae
| image = Elachista rufocinerea 2.jpg| image_width = 240px| image_caption = Adult Elachista rufocinerea,demonstrating its tiny size versus an aphid and a spider mite | regnum = Animalia| phylum = Arthropoda| classis = Insecta...
family. It is found in the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 9-10.3 mm for males and 6.9-9.3 mm for females. The forewings are yellow, powdered with dark brownish grey-tipped scales in males. The hindwings are grey.
The larvae feed on Carex polyantha. They mine
Leaf miner
Leaf miner is a term used to describe the larvae of many different species of insect which live in and eat the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths , sawflies and flies , though some beetles and wasps also exhibit this behavior.Like Woodboring beetles, leaf...
the leaves of their host plant. The mine is straight and reaches a length of about 150 mm. Several larvae may be found on a single leaf. Pupation takes place outside of the mine, along the fold of the leaf.