Euspilapteryx auroguttella 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 Gracillariidae

Gracillariidae

Gracillariidae is an important family of insects in the order Lepidoptera and the principal family of leaf miners that includes several economic, horticultural or recently invasive pest species such as the horse-chestnut leaf miner, Cameraria ohridella....

 family. It is known from all of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.
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 mm. Adults are on wing in May and August in two generations.

The larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e feed on Hypericum adenotrichum, Hypericum elegans, Hypericum hircinum, Hypericum hirsutum

Hypericum hirsutum

Hypericum hirsutum is a flowering plant in the genus Hypericum commonly known as hairy St John's wort. It is found in Western Europe.-Description:...

, Hypericum humifusum

Hypericum humifusum

Hypericum humifusum is a prostrate flowering plant in the genus Hypericum commonly known as trailing St John's wort. It is found in Western Europe.-Description:...

, Hypericum maculatum

Hypericum maculatum

Hypericum maculatum Crantz is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the genus Hypericum, native to Europe and Western Asia and occurring in meadows....

, Hypericum montanum

Hypericum montanum

Hypericum montanum is a plant species in the genus Hypericum....

, Hypericum olympicum, Hypericum perforatum, Hypericum rhodoppeum and Hypericum tetrapterum

Hypericum tetrapterum

Hypericum tetrapterum is a species in the genus Hypericum, in the family Hypericaceae. Its common names include St. Peter's Wort, Peterwort, Square Stemmed St. John's Wort, and Square Stalked St. John's Wort....

. 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 lower-surface epidermal corridor. The last section is widened into a blotch. Only then the larva begins to consume parenchymatous tissue and to line the inside of the mine with silk. The leaf folds itself around the mine. The 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 depsosited in a clump in a corner of the mine. Older larvae leave the mine and live freely in a leaf tip that has been folded downwards.