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(Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera)
by
Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds
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ASPERUGO.
Madwort. [Boraginaceae]
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Madwort
(A. procumbens L.) is the only species of Asperugo
recorded in Britain.
Two British miners are recorded on Asperugo.
A key to the European miners recorded on Asperugo is provided in Bladmineerders van Europa.
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Key for the identification of the known mines of British
insects (Diptera and non-Diptera) recorded on Asperugo
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1a > Leaf-miner: Mine linear, whitish, both upper and lower surface. Pupation internal,
at the end of the mine with the anterior spiracles projecting through
the epidermis (Spencer, 1976:
433). Upper-surface,
less often lower-surface corridor. Frass in isolated grains. Pupation
within the mine, in a, usually lower-surface, pupal chamber. A long whitish upper surface corridor, which eventually goes lower surface. |
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Two
highly polyphagous species of Chromatomyia, with indistinguishable
mines, have been recorded in Britain. These are syngenesiae (Hardy) and horticola (Goureau) which can only be distinguished by the male genitalia. Both species are widespread in Britain and elsewhere, although syngenesiae is almost entirely restricted to Asteraceae. Records on Asteraceae not based on examination of male genitalia are treated in this account as Chromatomyia 'atricornis'.
Chromatomyia
horticola is recorded on Asperugo elsewhere, but not yet on Asperugo in Britain.
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Chromatomyia
horticola (Goureau, 1851) [Diptera: Agromyzidae]
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1b > Leaf-miner: A
narrow linear leaf-mine, which developes into a large blotch. Several
larvae frequently feed together and the resulting mine can entirely
fill the leaf (Spencer, 1976:
89).
The
mine begins with a narrow, parallel sided corridor af 1-8 cm in
length, with a nice double frass line. After the first moult the
corridor is succeeded, and mostly overrun, by a large, primary,
brown blotch. Frass in the initial corridor in short thread fragments,
in the blotch in angular granules and thread fragments that often
are branching (the frass is unusally sticky). Primary and secondary
feeding lines conspicuous. The final mine often is very large and
generally contains several larvae, because normally several mines
develop on a leaf, and coalesce into one big blotch. Before pupation
the larvae leave the mine through a semicircular exit slit that
mostly, but not invariably, is in the upper epidermis.
The initial narrow gallery contains frass in a double line. It then expands to form a blotch mine. Several larvae may occupy a leaf to form a large blotch. |
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On
numerous genera of Boraginaceae, including Anchusa, Borago, Cynoglossum, Echium and Pulmonaria, but not yet on Asperugo in Britain. Widespread
in Britain. Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland. Common and
widespread throughout most of Europe.
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Agromyza
abiens Zetterstedt, 1848 [Diptera: Agromyzidae]. |
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