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Cerodontha iraeos (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851)
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Iris Leaf-miner

Agromyza ireos Goureau, 1851. Annls. Soc. ent. Fr. (2)9: 135, [as ircos R.-D] Agromyza iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851. Rev. Mag. Zool. (2)3: 395
Dizygomyza (Dizygomyza) iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851; Hendel, 1931. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 86
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851; Nowakowski, 1967. Polskie Pismo ent. 37: 642
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851; Nowakowski, 1972. Polskie Pismo ent. 42(4): 759
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) ireos (Goureau, 1851); Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 104
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) iraeos (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851); Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 217, figs 375-6
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) ireos (Goureau, 1851); Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 331, 332 (figs 1264-5), 336.

Leaf-miner: A short white mine. Pupation in mine (Spencer, 1976: 217, 219 (fig. 376)).

Irregular corridor, essentially parallel to the leaf blade. Mine white when seen from above, uniformly greenish when seen by transparency. Frass in one, rarely more, big black lump. Larva solitary. Pupation in the mine; puparium parallel to the leaf venation (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Short, longitudinal blotches - often coalescing to make longer mines or wider mines or both (British leafminers).

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 Dempewolf (2001: 110), Sasakawa (1961), Nowakowski (1973) and illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Cerodontha iraeos larva, lateral Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

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).

The puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Cerodontha iraeos puparium Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Comments: The records of Cerodontha iraeos of Hering (1957a) and Robbins (1991) on Typha are almost certainly in error for Iris (G.C.D. Griffiths, pers. comm.).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Iridaceae
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Mines in BMNH
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		British leafminers
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Robbins, 1991: 130
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Spencer, 1972b: 125
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Bland, 1992

Hosts elsewhere:

Iridaceae
Belamcanda	chinensis			Sasakawa, 1961
Iris				Spencer, 1990: 336
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Spencer, 1976: 217
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Spencer, 1990: 331
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Dempewolf, 2001: 110
Iris	pseudacorus	Yellow Iris		Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: July-August.

Time of year - adults: July-August; and May the following year.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread and common throughout Britain from Banff to Scilly Isles (Spencer, 1972b: 104) including Inner Hebrides (Isle of Coll) (Bland, 1992), Warwickshire (Longford, Coventry Canal) (Robbins, 1991: 130); Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, East Gloucestershire, East Norfolk, East Ross, Glamorgan, Main Argyll, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, North Ebudes, South Devon, South Lancashire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Kent, West Ross and Westerness (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland: Tipperary (Spencer, 1972b: 104).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands.

Also recorded from East Palaearctic and the Oriental Region (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: