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

 

Coleophora lusciniaepennella (Treitschke, 1833)
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Osier Case-bearer



Ornix lusciniaepennella
Treitschke, 1833. Europ. Schmett. 11 (2): 213.
Coleophora lusciniaepennella
(Treitschke, 1833)
Coleophora viminetella Zeller, 1849. Linn. Ent. 4: 393.


Leaf-miner and case-bearer: As with other Coleophorids, the larva forms a case from the leaf, in which it overwinters. The case formed by this species is long, slender and frequently woolly in appearance (UKMoths).

Bivalved composite leaf case of 8-10 mm, rather strongly compressed and keeled, with a mouth angle of 30-45° (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 Bladmineerders van Europa.

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:

Betulaceae        
Betula       UKMoths
Myricaceae        
Myrica       British leafminers
Myrica gale Bog-myrtle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Myrica gale Bog-myrtle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salicaceae        
Salix       British leafminers
Salix aurita Eared 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

Hosts elsewhere:

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
Salicaceae        
Salix       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. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix babylonica Weeping Crack-willow   Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix dasyclados     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix euxina or x fragilis Crack-willow or Hybrid Carck-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix glabra     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix pentandra Bay 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 triandra Almond Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September to October, feeding again from April to May (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: The adult moths flies in a single generation emerging in June and July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: The moth is common in areas where its hostplant grows, throughout the whole of Britain, except the far north of Scotland (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Somerset, Outer Hebrides, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Suffolk, West Sutherland, Westerness, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia North, Russia - South, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded in Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Myrica gale, Salix alba, Salix aurita, Salix babylonica, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, Salix fragilis, Salix pentandra, Salix repens, Salix triandra, Salix viminalis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Chrysocharis nitetis (Walker, 1939) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Agathis anglica Marshall, 1885 Braconidae: Agathidinae
Dolichogenidea coleophorae (Wilkinson, 1938) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Gelis agilis (Fabricius, 1775) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Gelis areator (Panzer, 1804) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae


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 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page