Elachista occidentalis
Encyclopedia
Elachista occidentalis is a moth
of the Elachistidae
family. It is found from Fennoscandia
to the Pyrenees
, Italy
and Greece
and from Ireland
to Poland
.
There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Carex digitata and Carex ericetorum
. They mine
the leaves of their host plant. The mine is very narrow at first, but gradually widens to half the width of the leaf. It runs either along the leaf margin or follows the midrib. Pupation takes place outside of the mine. They are greyish green.
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 Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia
Fennoscandia and Fenno-Scandinavia are geographic and geological terms used to describe the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia and Finland...
to the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, 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 Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
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 Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
There is one generation per year.
The larvae feed on Carex digitata and Carex ericetorum
Carex ericetorum
Carex ericetorum is a perennial species of plants in the family Cyperaceae native to Eurasia and growing on sandy soils in pine forests....
. 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 very narrow at first, but gradually widens to half the width of the leaf. It runs either along the leaf margin or follows the midrib. Pupation takes place outside of the mine. They are greyish green.