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

 

Ectoedemia albifasciella (Heinemann, 1871)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

White-banded Pigmy


Nepticula albifasciella Heinemann, 1871. Berl. ent. Z.: 222.
Ectoedemia albifasciella
(Heinemann, 1871).


Leaf-miner: The mine begins with a narrow gallery following the midrib or a vein, and then becoming a rectangular blotch with frass gathered towards one end (UKMoths).

Oviposition on the upperside of the leaf, next to a vein. The first part of the mine is a narrow corridor, with a broad frass line, running along a vein. Usually the corridor runs away from the midrib, but often it runs along the midrib itself. The corridor widens abruptly into a squarish blotch, containing much frass. Often several mines in a leaf. Pupation external (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also illustrated in Belgian Lepidoptera.

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).

White with green gut-line, head pale brown (British leafminers). The larva is yellowish white with a light brown hread; ganglia inconspicuous; ventral plates present but indistinct (van Nieukerken, 1985a). See Gustafsson and van Nieukerken (1990a) for a description of the larva (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Ectoedemia albifasciella larva,  dorsal
Ectoedemia albifasciella larva, dorsal
Image: © Willem Ellis (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:

Fagaceae        
Quercus       British leafminers
Quercus cerris Turkey Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus rubra Red Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Fagaceae        
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus faginea     Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus pubescens Downy Oak   Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus pyrenaica Pyrenean Oak   Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus rubra Red Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: August - October (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: The adult moths are on the wing in June (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Distributed throughout England and Wales and into the southern half of Scotland, it is more localised in the north, but can be common elsewhere (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucester, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Elgin, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Devon, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Wiltshire, South Northumberland, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Ross, West Suffolk, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, ? Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, ? Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central and South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Quercus cerris, Quercus petraea, Quercus pubescens, Quercus pyrenaica, Quercus robur, Quercus rubra

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis acoris (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis amasis (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Derostenus punctiscuta Thomson, 1878 Eulophidae: Entedoninae


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