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

 

Phytomyza silai Hering, 1935
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]


Phytomyza silai Hering, 1935b. JOURNAL: PAGE
Phytomyza silai Hering, 1935b; Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 77, 80, 121
Phytomyza silai Hering, 1935b; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the World Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 160, 169, 172 (figs 638-9), 173.


Leaf-miner: Larva mining initially on lower surface of leaf, later filling the tip of the leaf on the upper surface with a linear blotch mine (Spencer, 1972b: 77).

The mine starts with a lower-surface, relatively wide corridor. After its first moult the larva continues upper-surface, its mine in the end entirely occupying several leaf segmets (Allen, 1956a; Hering, 1957). Frass in rather coarse granules. Pupation outside the mine, exit slit in upper epidermis (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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 are described Allen (1957b).

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).

Black; posterior spiracles each with 20 bulbs (Spencer, 1972b: 77).

Comments: Treated as a junior name of Phytomyza adjucta (recorded on Pimpinella and ? Silaum in the NBN Atlas.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Apiaceae        
Silaum       Robbins, 1991: 65
Silaum silaus Pepper-saxifrage British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Silaum silaus Pepper-saxifrage British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 121

Hosts elsewhere:

Apiaceae        
Silaum       Spencer, 1990: 160
Silaum silaus Pepper-saxifrage British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: July, September-October.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Surrey (Egham), Cambridge (Chippenham Fen) (Spencer, 1972b: 77) and Warwickshire (Combrook and Ufton Fields) (Robbins, 1991: 65).

Distribution elsewhere: Europe (Spencer, 1990) including Germany (Bladmineerders van Europa) and Poland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Silaum silaus

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis orbicularis (Nees, 1834) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis pubicornis (Zetterstedt, 1838) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Coloneura dice (Nixon, 1943) Braconidae: Alysiinae


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