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

 

Bucculatrix nigricomella (Zeller, 1839)
[Lepidoptera: Bucculatricidae]

Daisy Bent-wing


Lyonetia nigricomella Zeller, 1839. Isis: 215
Bucculatrix nigricomella
(Zeller, 1839).


Leaf-miner: The larvae mine the leaves creating a long, meandering gallery containing narrow blackish frass. In later instars, the larva feeds externally (UKMoths).

Young larvae in a very long, hair thin, winding corridor. Usually the corridor is (largely) upper-surface. Frass initially in a narrow continuous central line; further on the frass line is often interrupted. Older larvae live free and cause window feeding, usually at the leaf underside (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also illustrated in British leafminers.

Larva: The larvae of moths have a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding), six thoracic legs and abdominal legs (see examples).

The larva is illustrated in UKMoths.

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Asteraceae        
Leucanthemum vulgare Oxeye Daisy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Leucanthemum vulgare Oxeye Daisy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Leucanthemum vulgare Oxeye Daisy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Leucanthemum vulgare Oxeye Daisy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Leucanthemum vulgare Oxeye Daisy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: January - April and July (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Two generations, flying in April and May and again in August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widely distributed over much of the British Isles (UKMoths), including Lancashire (Greater Manchester, St. Helens (British leafminers) and Littleborough (UKMoths); Bedfordshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Fife, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Kincardineshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, Middlesex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and Northwest, Sardinia, ? Sicily, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Leucanthemum vulgare

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Blacus maculipes Wesmael, 1835 Braconidae: Brachistinae
Deuterixys carbonaria (Wesmael, 1837) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Deuterixys rimulosa (Niezabitowski, 1910) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Diadegma lithocolletis Horstmann, 1969 Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Diadegma pusio (Holmgren, 1860) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae


External links: Search the internet:

Belgian Lepidoptera
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist
UKMoths

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Last updated 10-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page