Gracillariidae] in Leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects (original) (raw)
Leaf-miner: In a small _Phyllonorycter_-like mine initially, but with brown rather than green lower epidermis. Later in two or more successive cones formed by folding leaf-lobes downwards (British leafminers).
The mine begins at a flat, iridescent egg shell. It starts as an epidermal corridor, widening into (and mostly over run by) a shallow lower surface blotch in the tip of a leaf segment. The lower epidermis is off-grey with small light brown spots at first, but soon turns brown. Silk is deposited within the mine, causing it to contract. This wrinkles the lower epidermis, but there are no clear folds formed. Soon the larva starts consuming the palissade parenchyma, and the upperside of the mine than turns brown as well. Frass in loose grains. After some time the larva leaves its mine and continues living free under a downfolded leaf segment, kept in place by some spinning. Here too the leaf tissue is consumed up to the palissade parenchyma, browning the leaf (Bladmineerders van Europa).
Larva: The larvae of moths have a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding), six thoracic legs and abdominal legs (see examples).
The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.
Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).
In a folded leaf edge or on leaf-litter (British leafminers).
Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
| Rosaceae | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crataegus | British leafminers | |||
| Crataegus | Pitkin & Plant | |||
| Crataegus | UKMoths | |||
| Fragaria | British leafminers | |||
| Fragaria | Pitkin & Plant | |||
| Sorbus | aucuparia | Rowan |  |
Pitkin & Plant |
| Sorbus | torminalis | Wild Service-tree | |
British leafminers |
| Sorbus | torminalis | Wild Service-tree | |
Pitkin & Plant |
Hosts elsewhere:
Time of year - larvae: July; August-September (British leafminers).
Time of year - adults: The adult moths are on the wing in two generations, during April and May and again in August (UKMoths).
Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Very common throughout the British Isles (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Ayrshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Devon, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Somerset, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Lancashire, West norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sussex, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).
See also British leafminers distribution map.
Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).
Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central and North, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Also recorded in Near East and Nearctic region (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
| Chalcidoidea | |
|---|---|
| Cirrospilus lyncus Walker, 1841 | Eulophidae: Eulophinae |
| Cirrospilus salatis Walker, 1838 | Eulophidae: Eulophinae |
| Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available | |
| Diadegma stigmatellae Horstmann, 1980 | Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae |
| Enytus appositor (Aubert, 1970) | Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae |
| Scambus inanis (Schrank, 1802) | Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae |