Helcystogramma lutatella, the clay crest, is a moth in the family Gelechiidae. It was described by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer in 1854. It is found in Uralsk, Transbaikalia, China (Fujian, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, Xinjiang)[1] and almost all of Europe.[2]
The wingspan is 12–18 mm. The forewings are yellowish brown with rounded brown spots at the middle and near the end of the cell as well as at three-fifths length of the fold. These spots are margined with yellowish white.[3] Adults are on wing from July to early September in western Europe.[4]
The larvae feed on Calamagrostis epigeios, Dactylis glomerata, Phragmites australis and Elymus repens.