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

  

Digitivalva pulicariae (Klimesch, 1956)
[Lepidoptera: Acrolepiidae]

Fleabane Smudge

Acrolepia pulicariae Klimesch, 1956. Z. Wien. ent. Ges. 41: 135, fig'd.
Digitivalva pulicariae (Klimesch, 1956).

Leaf-miner: The larva mines the leaves, forming brownish or whitish inflated blotches (UKMoths).

Whitish or brownish full depth blotch, preceded by a short corridor that originates on the midrib or in the leaf base. Frass grains irregularly dispersed; part of the frass is ejected from the mine. The larva makes several mines. Pupation outside the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also described 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).

Uniformly yellowish green (dorsally a somewhat darker length line) with light brown head (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:

Asteraceae        
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: The adult moths fly from August and hibernate over winter, re-appearing up to May the following spring (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Locally distributed, occurring from southern England northwards to Northumberland and west to Wales (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Breconshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Isle of Wight, North Devon, North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Northumberland, South Somerset, South-west Yorkshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Cornwall and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Eupatorium cannabinum, Pulicaria dysenterica

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.

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 23-May-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page