Gall
and Leaf-miner: A gall in the leaf petiole, later the mine is
in the leaf-blade, in a 'green island' (British
leafminers). Check fallen leaves.
The
egg lies on top of the midrib (rarely a thick lateral vein), mostly
c. one cm below the visible part of the mine, generally not far
from the base of the leaf. The larva at first hollows the midrib
(on the second picture from the top the far right, darkened, part
of the midrib has been mined out). Only in its last stage the larva
leaves the midrib and makes a triangular blotch, adjacent to the
midrib. When the larva isn't yet too large it retreats into the
midrib during feeding pauses. Partly caused by these movements the
frass usually lies in two stripes in a V-pattern, parallel to the
sides of the blotch. The mines often are found in yellowed leaves
in green islands, often in already Fallén leaves (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).
Pale yellow with a light brown head (British
leafminers). The larva is also 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:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: July - November (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: Currently unknown.
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Bedfordshire,
Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, North Essex, North Hampshire, Shropshire,
South Hampshire, South Wiltshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford,
Warwickshire, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, 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, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland,
French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad
Region, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania,
Russia - Central, North and Northwest, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden,
Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available |
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Mirax rufilabris Haliday, 1833 |
Braconidae: Miracinae |
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