''Elachista albicapitella'' is a
moth of the family
Elachistidae. It is found in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, where it has been recorded from
Illinois,
Pennsylvania,
Ohio and
Nova Scotia.
The
wingspan is 8–9 mm. The forewings are silvery white from the base of the costa across to the dorsum. There is a curved silvery-white fascia just beyond one-third of the wing length, as well as a silvery spot just beyond two-thirds. The hindwings are dark brownish fuscous.
Memoirs of the American Entomological Society
/ref> Adults have been recorded on wing in February and from May to July.
The larvae feed on '' Poa sylvestris''. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts near the base of the stem of tufts of their host plant. A single larva makes several mines. It may mine down into the leaf sheath, from which it enters another leaf. In later mines the leaf blade becomes rather inflated and the parenchyma nearly all consumed. Mining larvae can be found in early spring. The larvae are pale yellowish.
References
albicapitella
Moths described in 1907
Moths of North America
{{Elachista-stub