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

 

TEESDALIA. Shepherd's Cress. [Brassicaceae]


Only one species of Teesdalia, Shepherd's Cress (T. nudicaulis), is recorded in Britain. The BSBI provide a downloadable plant crib for Brassicaceae.

Three British miners are recorded on Teesdalia.

A key to the European miners recorded on Teesdalia is provided in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Shepherd's Cress - Teesdalia nudicaulis. Image: © Linda Pitkin
Shepherd's Cress
Teesdalia nudicaulis



Key for the identification of the known mines of British
insects (Diptera and non-Diptera) recorded on Teesdalia


1a > Leaf-miner: Rather small, untidy, full depth, often branched corridor, often close to the leaf margin. Sides irregularly eaten out. Frass in a greyish-green central line that is interrupted from time to time, sometimes partly in strings. In times of rain the frass may run out and appear greenish. Usually several mines in a leaf. The body is whitish; head greyish brown with Y-shaped lighter marking. Pronotum with a pair of brownish shields. The mandibles have two teeth.

Mine of Ceutorhynchus contractus (as minutus) on Raphanus sativus Image: © WIllem Ellis (Bladmineerders en plantengallen van Europa)
Mine of Ceutorhynchus minutus on Raphanus sativus
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)
Ceutorhynchus minutus larva,  dorsal
Ceutorhynchus minutus larva, lateral
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Polyphagous. On numerous genera and species of Brassicaceae, Capparaceae, Resedaceae and Tropaeolaceae, including Cochlearia, but not yet on Teesdalia, in Britain and Teesdalia elsewhere. Widespread in Britain and continental Europe. Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland.

Ceutorhynchus minutus (Marsham, 1802) [Coleoptera: Curculionidae].

1b > Leaf-miner: Rather narrow corridor, untidy and sometimes branched, starting from the base of the leaf, in particular the midrib. Sides of the corridor irregularly eaten out, not really parallel. Frass mostly present, and then in a central line. The larva is capable of leaving the mine and start a new one elsewhere. These later mines are much broader, and the frass is scattered irregularly..

Mine of Orthochaetes insignis on Prunella vulgaris
Mine of Orthochaetes insignis on Prunella vulgaris
Image: © Jean-Yves Baugnée (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Host plants unknown in Britain. On numerous genera and species in several plant families, including Teesdalia, elsewhere. Recorded in southern England. Widespread in continental Europe.

Orthochaetes insignis (Aube, 1863) [Coleoptera: Curculionidae].

1c > Leaf-miner: Corridor-blotch mine, normally dorsal; usually whitish; in small leaves it lies characteristically in the centre of the leaf often touching the petiole; in larger leaves it lies to one side of the mid-rib. Frass deposited in green clumps near the leaf margin. Pupation usually external, sometimes in a separate pupation mine.

Oviposition whitin the leaf, at the lower surface. The first part of the mine is a long, sometimes very long, corridor, that mostly will be overrun by the later developments. Generally this corridor is directed, frequently guided by a thick vein, to the midrib. The next section of the mine is large, irregular blotch overlying the basal section of the midrib. Locally large chunks of midrib tissue are consumed. From this central blotch excursions are made into the leaf blade: generally upper-surface, less often lower-surface and locally full-depth. In plants with narrow leaves, like Diplotaxis, the mine may occupy the entire width of the leaf. Often several larvae together in a mine. Frass blackish green, powdery, in clouds, sometimes along the sides of the corridors, later more in the periphery of the mine and in the end of extensions of the blotch, sometimes seemingly absent. (Often the frass can only be seen after the mine has been opened). Pupation generally in the ground, rarely within he leaf, in a short mine without frass. Hendel (1928a) described the biology, larva and puparium.

An initial narrow gallery then leads to a blotch on the midrib of the leaf.

Watch a video of a scaptomyzid fly larva on Arabidopsis on YouTube by mash92587.

Polyphagous. On numerous genera of Brassicaceae, Asteraceae, Papaveraceae, Resedaceae, Tropaeolaceae and Violaceae, including Alliaria, Barbarea, Brassica, Cheiranthus, Cochlearia, Coincyia, Conringia, Diplotaxis, ? Eruca, Erysimum, ? Hesperis. Lepidium, Matthiola, Raphanus, ? Rorippa and Sinapis, but not yet on Teesdalia, in Britain. On additional genera of these families and Fabaceae elsewhere. Widespread, from Caithness in the north to Cornwall in the south of Britain. Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland, Europe, the East Palaearctic, Near East and Neartic Region.

Scaptomyza flava (Fallén, 1823) [Diptera: Drosophilidae].



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