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

 

Caloptilia stigmatella (Fabricius, 1781)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]

White-triangle Slender


Tinea stigmatella Fabricius, 1781. Spec. Ins. 2: 295
Caloptilia stigmatella
(Fabricius, 1781).


Leaf-miner: Initially a lower epidermal gallery which leads to a blotch at the leaf-edge. Subsequently creates two or three cones by folding the edge or tip of a leaf downwards (British leafminers).

The mine begins with an unusually long lower-surface epidermal corridor that often follows the midrib for some distance, but finally turns towards the leaf margin, where a small blotch is made of up to 1 cm in diameter. The blotch initially is fully epidermal, but later the larva starts consuming parenchyma, silk is deposited, and the blotch begins to develop into a somewhat contracted tentiform mine. In the end the mine is vacated and the larva continues living freely under a leaf fold that has been fixed with silk, or in a leaf tip that has been turned into a cone. Pupation in a shiny cocoon at the underside of the leaf (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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 and Bladmineerders van Europa.

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

Beneath a silken membrane on underside of leaf (British leafminers). The pupa lies in a vitreous cocoon, in an under-surface fold of the leaf, that is covered with a parchment-like membrane. See Patočka and Zach (1995a) (Bladmineerders van Europa.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths and the Encyclopedia of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Betulaceae        
Betula       Pitkin & Plant
Populus       British leafminers
Populus       Pitkin & Plant
Populus       UKMoths
Populus alba White Poplar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix       British leafminers
Salix       UKMoths
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix daphnoides European Violet-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix euxina or x fragilis Crack-willow or Hybrid Crack-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix matsudana     Pitkin & Plant
Salix phylicifolia Tea-leaved Willow   Pitkin & Plant
Salix purpurea Purple Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix x sepulchralis Weeping Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Betulaceae        
Populus gale     Belgian Lepidoptera
Populus alba White Poplar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Populus alba White Poplar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Populus × canadensis     Belgian Lepidoptera
Populus candicans     Bladmineerders van Europa
Populus x canescens     Bladmineerders van Europa
Populus nigra Black-poplar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Populus nigra Black-poplar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Populus tremula Aspen British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Populus tremula Aspen British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix       Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix babylonica Weeping Crack-willow   Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix babylonica Weeping Crack-willow   Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix dasyclados     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix elaeagnos Olive Willow   Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix euxina or x fragilis Crack-willow or Hybrid Crack-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix euxina or x fragilis Crack-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix glaucosericea     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix lanata Woolly Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix magnifica     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix myrsinifolia Dark-leaved Willow   Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix pentandra Bay Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix pentandra Bay Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix purpurea Purple Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix purpurea Purple Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix repens Creeping Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix sitchensis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix spadicea     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix triandra Almond Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix triandra Almond Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix udensis Sachalin Willow   Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix x stipularis Eared Osier   Bladmineerders van Europa
Myricaceae        
Myrica gale Bog-myrtle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Myrica gale Bog-myrtle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July-September (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Late June and July, and again from September onwards (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Fairly common throughout Britain including Lancashire (Littleborough) (UKMoths); Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Caenarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, East Sutherland, Easterness, Fife, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, North Devon, North Ebudes, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sussex, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas), the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

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, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East, North, Northwest and South, Sardinia, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Myrica gale, Populus alba, Populus candicans, Populus x canescens, Populus nigra, Populus tremula, Salix alba, Salix aurita, Salix babylonica, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, Salix daphnoides, Salix elaeagnos, Salix fragilis, Salix lanata, Salix matsudana, Salix myrsinifolia, Salix pentandra, Salix phylicifolia, Salix purpurea, Salix repens, Salix x stipularis, Salix triandra, Salix udensis, Salix viminalis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Dimmockia brevicornis (Erdös, 1954) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Sympiesis dolichogaster Ashmead, 1888 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Pteromalus semotus (Walker, 1834) Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Apanteles xanthostigma (Haliday, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Anomalon variegatus (Jurine, 1807) Ichneumonidae: Anomaloninae
Diadegma duplicatum Horstmann, 1980 Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Diadegma stigmatellae Horstmann, 1980 Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Hyposoter virginalis (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Diaglyptidea conformis (Gmelin, 1790) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Campodorus variegatus (Jurine 1807) Ichneumonidae: Euryproctinae
Itoplectis alternans (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae
Scambus inanis (Schrank, 1802) Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae


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 13-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page