Bug FAQElachista illectella
Elachista illectella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Elachistidae
The adult moth has a wingspan of about 6 to 8 mm. It lives in deciduous forests across many parts of North America, including several U.S. states and Ontario. Larvae mine the leaves of various grasses such as Poa, Agrostis and Bromus.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males and females look different, showing sexual dimorphism.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure 6 to 8 mm across the wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found in deciduous forest habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on grasses such as Poa (including Kentucky bluegrass), Agrostis, Hystrix, Elymus, Oryzopsis, Bromus and Phleum, mining the leaves.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are sexually dimorphic.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species occurs in North America, recorded from states like Arizona, Illinois, Maine and others, as well as Ontario.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 30 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New York, Maryland, Mississippi, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the larvae of Elachista illectella eat?
They mine the leaves of various grass species, including Poa, Agrostis, Bromus and others.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Elachista illectella found?
It has been recorded in many North American locations, such as Arizona, Illinois, Maine, Texas and Ontario.
Source: Wikipedia
How big is an adult Elachista illectella?
The adult’s wingspan ranges from about 6 to 8 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elachista_illectella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.