Elachista regificella

Alternative names
Wood-rush Miner
Wood-rush Dwarf
Description

Wingspan about 9 mm.  A rather attractive little species, sporting silvery metallic fasciae against a dark fuscous forewing, the central fascia being a (sometimes broken) elongated spot.  The larva mines the leaves of Wood-rush species forming a blister mine that often causes the leaf blade to pucker

Similar Species

Other species of Elachista may mine Luzula. Several speces of fly feed in leaf-mines on Luzula; feeding damage can be caused by a range of invertebrates. 

Identification difficulty

Adult Leafmine

Recording advice

Adult: Unless identified by a recognised expert, a photo is required. If the photo doesn't show the key ID features then in the comments box describe the size and identifying characters you have observed.

Leafmine: please provide a backlit photograph of the leafmine and state the host plant species.

Habitat

Their favoured habitat is open woodland where the larval foodplants Wood-rush (Luzula sp.) are present.

When to see it

Adult moths fly in July

Life History

Single-brooded.  The larval foodplants are various Wood-rush (Luzula spp.).

UK Status

It has a fairly wide, though scattered distribution over much of the British Isles, and can be scarce outside of the southern half of England. In the Butterfly Conservation's Microlepidoptera Report 2011 this species was classified as Nationally Scarce B.

VC55 Status

Rarely recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland. 

Reference
38.019 BF593

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Species profile

Common names
Wood-rush Dwarf
Species group:
Moths
Kingdom:
Order:
Family:
Records on NatureSpot:
3
First record:
10/04/2021 (Skevington, Mark)
Last record:
07/01/2022 (Graves, Hazel)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

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