''Elachista argentella'' is a moth of the family Elachistidae found in all of Europe, except the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. The wingspan is . The head is white. Forewings are white, sometimes ochreous- tinged. Hindwings in male grey in female grey-whitish.The larva is greenish-grey ; dorsal line whitish;head pale brown. The moth flies from May to July depending on the location. The larvae feed on a number of different species of grass including ''

Agrostis ''Agrostis'' (bent or bentgrass) is a large and very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family, found in nearly all the countries in the world. It has been bred as a GMO creeping bent grass. Species * '' Agrostis aequivalvi'' ...

'', '' Avenula pratensis'', ''

Avenula pubescens ''Avenula'' is a genus of Eurasian flowering plants in the Poaceae, grass family. Over 100 names have been proposed for species, subspecies, varieties, and other infraspecific taxa within ''Avenula'', but only one species is accepted. The others n ...

'', ''

Brachypodium pinnatum ''Brachypodium pinnatum'', the heath false brome or tor-grass, is a species of grass with a widespread distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows in calcareous grassland, and reaches tall. The flowerhead is ...

'', '' Brachypodium sylvaticum'', ''

Bromus erectus ''Bromus erectus'', commonly known as erect brome, upright brome or meadow brome, is a dense, course, tufted perennial grass. It can grow to . Like many brome grasses the plant is hairy. The specific epithet ''erectus'' is Latin, meaning "erect ...

'', ''

Bromus sterilis ''Bromus sterilis'' is an annual or biennial species of bromegrass known as barren brome, poverty brome, and sterile brome. Description This is an annual or biennial grass ranging from about 20 to 90 centimeters in maximum height. Leaf blades ...

'', '' Calamagrostis epigejos'', '' Dactylis glomerata'', '' Deschampsia cespitosa'', '' Elymus hispidus'', '' Elymus repens'', ''

Festuca ovina ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

'', '' Festuca rubra'', ''

Festuca trachyphylla ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ev ...

'', ''

Festuca valesiaca ''Festuca valesiaca'', the Volga fescue, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae. It is native to Europe and Asia. It was introduced to North America when it was deliberately planted.Darbyshire, S. J. and L. E. Pavlick. (2007)''Fes ...

'', ''

Holcus lanatus ''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial grass. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In North America, where it is an invasive ...

'', ''

Holcus mollis ''Holcus mollis'', known as creeping soft grass or creeping velvet grass, is a species of Poaceae, grass, native to Europe and western Asia. Description ''Holcus mollis'' is a Rhizome, rhizomatous perennial grass found in woods and hedgerows, ...

'', '' Koeleria glauca'', ''

Koeleria grandis ''Koeleria pyramidata'' is a Eurasian plant species in the grass family. It is found in grasslands from France + Denmark to Nepal + Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive g ...

'', ''

Koeleria macrantha ''Koeleria macrantha'' is a species of grass known by the common name prairie Junegrass in North America and crested hair-grass in the UK. It is widespread across much of Eurasia and North America. It occurs in many habitat types, especially prai ...

'', '' Leymus arenarius'', '' Phalaris arundinacea'', ''

Phleum ''Phleum'' (timothy) is a genus of annual and perennial plants in the grass family. The genus is native to Europe, Asia and north Africa, with one species (''P. alpinum'') also in North and South America. They are tufted grasses growing to 20 ...

'' and '' Poa pratensis''. They

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a narrow corridor in which the larva hibernates. In March, it vacates the mine and moves to a new leaf where it creates a transparent, full depth mine that descends from the leaf tip, and occupies the entire width of the blade. Most

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

is deposited in the oldest upper part of the mine. The larva may again vacate the mine and restart elsewhere. Larvae can be found from late summer to early May. They are grey green with a pale brown head. Pupation takes place outside of the mine.bladmineerders.nl

References

External links

waarneming.nl

''Elachista argentella'' at UKmoths

argentella Argentella is a type of needle lace derived from Argentan lace, . with a Rosacé ground, a "striking ground of tiny webs." See also *List of fabric names Fabrics in this list include fabrics that are woven, braided or knitted from textil ...

Leaf miners Moths described in 1759 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Carl Alexander Clerck {{Elachista-stub