The leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects
 

(Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera)

by Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds

  

Aulagromyza orphana (Hendel, 1920)
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Phytagromyza orphana Hendel, 1920. Arch. Naturgesch. 84A(7) (1918): 148
Phytagromyza orphana Hendel, 1920; Hendel, 1932. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 287
Phytagromyza orphana Hendel, 1920; von Tschirnhaus, 1969. Faun.-Ok. Mitt. Kiel. 3: 283
Paraphytomyza orphana (Hendel, 1920); Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 64
Paraphytomyza orphana (Hendel, 1920); Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 318-20, figs 574-5.
Paraphytomyza orphana (Hendel, 1920); Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 235, 236, 237 (fig. 888).
Aulagromyza orphana (Hendel, 1920)

Leaf / Stem-miner:The mine begins in a leaf, that soon withers (sign to look for, when trying to find this miner). The larva continues living as a miner in the skin of the stem (Bladmineerders van Europa). Pupation external (Spencer, 1976: 320).

Larva: The larvae of flies are leg-less maggots without a head capsule (see examples). They never have thoracic or abdominal legs. They do not have chewing mouthparts, although they do have a characteristic cephalo-pharyngeal skeleton (see examples), usually visible internally through the body wall.

The larva is described by de Meijere (1941) and Dempewolf (2001: 167, as ? Aulagromyza orphana). Posterior spiracles widely-separated, each with an ellipse of numerous small bulbs (Spencer, 1976: 320).

Puparium: The puparia of flies are formed within the hardened last larval skin or puparium and as a result sheaths enclosing head appendages, wings and legs are not visible externally (see examples).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rubiaceae        
Galium aparine Cleavers British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Galium aparine Cleavers British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1991: 105
Galium aparine Cleavers British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 119
Galium palustre Marsh-bedstraw British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1991: 105

Hosts elsewhere:

Rubiaceae        
Galium aparine Cleavers British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Galium aparine Cleavers British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 320
Galium aparine Cleavers British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 235
Galium palustre Marsh-bedstraw British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 320
Galium palustre Marsh-bedstraw British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 235

Time of year - mines: July.

Time of year - adults: May-June.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Surrey (Godalming), Middlesex (Scrath Wood), Dorset (Portland), Suffolk (Barrton Mills), Derby (Miller's Dale), Banff (Falls of Tarnash) (Spencer, 1972b: 64), Warwickshire (Robbins, 1991: 105), Cambridgeshire, East Ross, Middlesex, North Hampshire and South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in western and central Europe including Denmark (Spencer, 1976: 320), The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (Scheirs, de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1999), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 562), Austria, Czech Republic, European Turkey, French mainland, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Spanish mainland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Galium aparine, Galium palustre

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.

External links: Search the internet:
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist		 Find using Google
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Find images using Google

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