Leaf-miner: Long
narrow interparenchymal mine, greenish. Pupation in leaf at end
of mine (Spencer, 1976: 503
(fig. 880)).
Unusually
long, interparenchymatous, therefore yellowish corridor that remains
of equal width throughout its length. (In some plants with thin
leaves, like Cirsium oleraceum the mines are not interparechymatous
but either full-depth or alternating upper- and lower-surface).
The mine makes few curves, and hardly any u-turn, causing the mine
to usually occupy the entire length of a leaf. Frass in two rows
of grains along the sides. Pupation within the mine, in a lower-surface
puparial chamber; the anterior spiracles penetrate the 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 is described by de Meijere (1928)
and illustrated in (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).
White; posterior spiracles each with 18-20 minute bulbs on small
conical protuberance (Spencer,
1976: 503). The puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.
Comments:
All British records require confirmation.
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts elsewhere:
Time
of year - mines: July, October.
Time
of year - adults: Currently unknown.
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Warwickshire (Coventry) (Robbins,
1991: 121); Cambridgeshire, East Gloucestershire, East Suffolk, Pembrokeshire, South-west Yorkshire and Stafford (NBN
Atlas).
Also
recorded on Meadow Thistle (Cirsium dissectum), 13.6.1985
at Lough Corrib, Co. Galway, Ireland (H.C.J. Godfray). Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Belgium
(Scheirs et al., 1994;
Scheirs, de Bruyn
and von Tschirnhaus, 1996), Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden
(Spencer, 1976: 503), The
Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Germany (Spencer,
1976: 578), Czech Slovakia, French mainland, Latvia, Lithuania
and Spanish mainland (Fauna Europaea).
Range
extending to the Kirghiz Republic of the [former] U.S.S.R. (Spencer,
1976: 503). NBN Atlas links to known host species:
Carduus
acanthoides, Carduus
crispus, Carduus
nutans, Centaurea
cyanus, Centaurea
montana, Centaurea
nigra, Cirsium
acaule, Cirsium
arvense, Cirsium
dissectum, Cirsium
helenioides, Cirsium
oleraceum, Cirsium
palustre, Cirsium
tuberosum, Cirsium
vulgare, Onopordum
acanthium
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British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
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