Elachista bifasciella 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 Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 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 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 the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 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...

. It is the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 of the Elachista

Elachista

Elachista is a genus of gelechioid moths. It is the type genus of the grass-miner moth family . This family is sometimes circumscribed very loosely, including for example the Agonoxenidae and Ethmiidae which seem to be quite distinct among the Gelechioidea, as well as other lineages which are...

genus.

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 7-9 mm. Adults are on wing in May and June.

The larvae feed on Agrostis gigantea

Agrostis gigantea

Agrostis gigantea, known by its common name Redtop, is a perennial grass of the Agrostis genus.It is native to Europe, but in the cooler areas of North America was widely used as a pasture grass until the 1940s. Although it has largely been replaced by soybeans and more palatable grasses, it still...

, Agrostis stolonifera

Agrostis stolonifera

Agrostis stolonifera is a perennial grass species in the Poaceae family. It is stoloniferous and may form mats or tufts...

, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Calamagrostis arundinacea

Calamagrostis arundinacea

Calamagrostis arundinacea Roth is a species of bunch grass in the Poaceae family, native to Eurasia....

, Calamagrostis varia, Calamagrostis villosa, Corynephorus canescens, 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, Deschampsia flexuosa

Deschampsia flexuosa

-Introduction:Deschampsia flexuosa Trin. or Wavy Hair-grass is a species of bunchgrass in the Poaceae family with a Holarctic distribution.-Habitat and distribution:...

, Festuca gigantea, Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra

Festuca rubra

Festuca rubra is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue. It is found worldwide and can tolerate many habitats and climates; it generally needs full sun to thrive...

, Holcus mollis, Milium effusum

Milium effusum

Milium effusum L. is a species of grass in the Poaceae family, native to damp forests of the Holarctic Kingdom.-External links:*...

and Poa nemoralis

Poa nemoralis

Poa nemoralis is a perennial plant in the Poaceae family. The late-growing grass is fairly nutritious for livestock, which feed on it in the autumn....

. 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 descends from just below the leaf tip to the center of the leaf. 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 deposited in a continuous, sometimes double line. A single larva makes several mines. Pupation takes place outside of the mine. Larvae can be found in spring. They are dull grey green with a pale brown head.