Morley’s Final Catalogue: A quite common kind; on grasses. Hemley (Whit.); Leiston (Grey); Mildenhali and occasionally on lawns in Monks Soham garden during mid-May (Mly).

Recent Status: There are a number of record for Suffolk.

Life Style: This species is double or triple brooded. The larvae mine downwards in a variety of grasses. They pupate in a dense cocoon.

Identification: There are three Elachista species of the once Cosmiotes genus that can be identified by a combination of Genitalia dissection and head colour. E. consortella male lacks a hook on the valve and the female has a short antrum narrowing abruptly. E. freyerella and E. stabilella both have a white frons but in E. stabilella the vertex becomes speckled fuscous grey. Differences in the genitalia of these two species is slight particularly for the males and MBGBI should be referred to. The forewings are dark with white markings. There is a small spot on the base of the dorsum, a fascia at one third, opposed tornal and costal spots separated by a narrow dark bar and a narrow band at the termen. Females are darker than males. Marking may be obscure.
The larvae of these species mine a variety of grasses except that E. consortella is stated to be specific to Poa annua. The larvae are stated as having different head and prothoracic plate colour. Yellowish for E. consortella, black for E. freyerella and pale brown for E. stabilella.

	Determination by Genitalia Examination (gen. det.) Required

Recorded in 9 (16%) of 58 10k Squares. First Recorded in 2002. Last Recorded in 2020. Additional Stats

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