Three European species are treated in this paper: two species of Heptamelus Haliday, 1855 and one Pseudoheptamelus Conde, 1932. Keys are provided for adults, and larvae as far as known. Heptamelus dahlbomi (Thomson, 1870) sp. rev. is re-described and compared with H. ochroleucus (Stephens, 1835). A neotype for H. ochroleucus is designated. Distribution in Western and Central Europe is similar, but H. dahlbomi is more frequent than H. ochroleucus on cultivated ferns. The species introduced to North America previously identified as H. ochroleucus is H. dahlbomi. Heptamelus larvae are endophytic in petioles of ferns. The larva of Pseudoheptamelus runari Conde, 1932, feeds exophytically on Athyrium filix-femina, favouring rachis and dead tissue of pinnae. Features of its morphology and behaviour are described.