Elachista obliquella is a moth

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 from Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 to the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

 and from Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 to Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

. It is also found in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

.

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 8-10 mm. Adults are on wing from April to July and again in August in two generations per year.

The larvae feed on Brachypodium pinnatum, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Bromopsis erecta, Bromopsis ramosa, Calamagrostis

Calamagrostis

Calamagrostis, or Small-reed or Reedgrass, is a genus in the Grass family Poaceae with about 260 species that occur mainly in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and the southern hemisphere. Towards equatorial latitudes, species of Calamagrostis generally occur at higher elevations in...

, Carex acuta

Carex acuta

Carex acuta or Acute Sedge, Slender Tufted-sedge, Slim Sedge can be found growing on the margins of rivers and lakes in the Palaearctic terrestrial ecoregions in beds of wet, alkaline or slightly acid depressions with mineral soil....

, Carex hudsonii, Carex ornithopoda, Carex spicata

Carex spicata

Carex spicata is a species of sedge in the genus Carex.-Description:The culms of Carex spicata are long and approximately triangular in section. The leaves are long and wide, with a distinct keel. The ligule, at the base of the leaf, is long, with a large amount of loose white tissue. C...

, Carex sylvatica, Dactylis glomerata

Dactylis glomerata

Dactylis glomerata, Cock's-foot and orchard grass, is a common species of grass in the genus Dactylis, native throughout most of Europe, temperate Asia, and northern Africa.-Distribution:...

, Deschampsia cespitosa, Festuca, Hordelymus europaeus, Koeleria cristata, Melica

Melica

Melica is a genus of perennial grasses known generally as melic or melic grass. They are found in most temperate regions of the world. They are clumping grasses with long, erect stems bearing spikelets of papery grass flowers...

Milium

Milium

Milium can refer to* Milium , a genus of grasses* the singular form of Milia, a milk spot...

and Poa chaixii

Poa chaixii

Poa chaixii is a species of perennial grass native to Europe and temperate Asia. Its culms are erect or ascending, ranging from 60–120 cm long, with leaf-blades flat or conduplicate, from 15–45 cm long by 5–10 mm wide.- References :* * * * J. E. Gilibert, Fl. Delph. 1:7. 1788...

. 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 starts as a narrow, brown, ascending corridor. Most frass

Frass

Frass is the fine powdery material phytophagous insects pass as waste after digesting plant parts. It causes plants to excrete chitinase due to high chitin levels, it is a natural bloom stimulant, and has high nutrient levels. Frass is known to have abundant amoeba, beneficial bacteria, and fungi...

is deposited in the basal part. Later, the larva leaves this mine and starts making a new mine in another leaf. This mine is an elongated, somewhat inflated blotch which occupies nearly the entire width of the leaf. They are dull grey green with a light brown head. Larvae can be found from autumn to mid May and again in July.