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

 

Elachista canapennella (Hübner, 1813)
[Lepidoptera: Elachistidae]

Little Dwarf


Tinea canapennella Hübner, 1813. Samml. Europ. Schmett. Tin. 47: 327.
Elachista canapennella
(Hübner, 1813).


Leaf-miner: Flat, whitish. Pupation outside the mine (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).

Yellow-grey, head light brown (Bland, 1996a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

Described by Bland (1996a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass   Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Agrostis stolonifera Creeping Bent British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Arrhenatherum elatius False Oat-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Arrhenatherum elatius False Oat-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Avenula pubescens Downy Oat-grass  

Bladmineerders van Europa

Deschampsia cespitosa Tufted Hair-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Festuca       Bladmineerders van Europa
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass   Belgian Lepidoptera
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass   Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa       Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: March - May, and July (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Berwickshire, Breconshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk East Suthertland, Easterness, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Devon, North Ebudes, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, SOth Devon, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Somerset, South Northumberland, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Suffolk, West Sussex, West Sutherland, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, North and Northwest, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Agrostis stolonifera, Arrhenatherum elatius, Deschampsia cespitosa, Avenula pubescens, Holcus mollis

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 17-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page