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 angulifasciella (Stainton, 1849)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

Bent-barred Pigmy


Nepticula angulifasciella Stainton, 1849. Cat. Brit. Tin. Pteroph.: 29
Nepticula minorella Zimmermann, 1944. Z. wien. ent. ges. 29: 118
Nepticula schleichiella Frey, 1870. Mitt. Schweiz. ent. ges. 3: 286
Nepticula utensis Weber, 1937. Mitt. Schweiz. ent. ges. 16: 669, fig'd
Ectoedemia angulifasciella (Stainton, 1849).


Leaf-miner: A contorted gallery leading to blotch. Larva greenish-white with dark ventral spots (British leafminers).

Oviposition at the underside of the leaf, usually not far from the midrib. The mine is a corridor; its first part is strongly contorted, intestine-like, containing brown, coiled, frass. The last part may follow the leaf margin for some distance. In the end the corridor widens into an elongate blotch with dispersed frass. The larva mines venter upwards. Pupation external (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 young larva has a chain of dark spots on the abdomen, which can be seen from above the mine, since the larva mines venter upwards. In later instars, these spots become smaller and less noticeable, and the green gut can be seen (UKMoths). The larva is illustrated in British leafminers and 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.

Comments: Sanguisorba minor is treated as Poterium sanguisorba (Salad Burnet) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosaceae        
Rosa       British leafminers
Rosa       UKMoths
Rosa canina Dog-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Sanguisorba minor Salad Burnet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Sanguisorba minor Salad Burnet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae        
Filipendula       Belgian Lepidoptera
Filipendula vulgaris Dropwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosa       Belgian Lepidoptera
Rosa canina Dog-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosa pendulina Alpine Rose   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosa sempervirens Evergreen Rose   Bladmineerders van Europa
Sanguisorba minor Salad Burnet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Sanguisorba minor Salad Burnet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Sanguisorba officinalis Great Burnet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Sanguisorba officinalis Great Burnet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September - November (British leafminers and UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: The adults fly during July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A locally common species occurring in England, Wales and southern Scotland (UKMoths) including Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, North Devon, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Northamptonshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Hampshire, South Wiltshire, Stafford, Warwickshire, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk 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, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Filipendula vulgaris, Rosa canina, Rosa pendulina, Rosa sempervirens, Sanguisorba minor (= Poterium sanguisorba), Sanguisorba officinalis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Adelius viator (Förster, 1851) Braconidae: Cheloninae
Mirax rufilabris Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Miracinae


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