Elachistidae

Bruand, 1850

The Elachistidae are a family of small moths, belonging to the superfamily Gelechioidea . Usually divided into four subfamilies Elachistinae, Depressariinae, Ethmiinae Parametriotinae (formerly Agonoxenidae) even if the taxonomy is still much discussed. * A revision of the Biselachista genus was made in 2015.**
In the modern, abridged description, Elachistidae are small to very small moths (wingspan usually around 1cm). Their wings appear feather-like due to the fine fur covering the fringes, and the hind wings can be greatly reduced in area, essentially consisting of a small strip with a wide hairy fringe; they have long and usually curved palps. Caterpillars are typically leaf miners or stem miners.


* Vedi ad es. Riferimenti in Savela (2004)
** Revision of European Elachistidae. The genus Biselachista Traugott-Olsen & Nielsen, 1977, stat. rev. (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae) - U. Parenti (†) & F. Pizzolato - https://iris.unito.it/retrieve/handle/2318/1508494/297394/Revision%20of%20European%20Elachistidae.%20The%20genus%20Biselachista.pdf



Elachistinae