Leaf-miner:
Larva makes a large whitish blotch and mines the leaf downwards.
The frass tends to be deposited in the upper part of the mine (British
leafminers).
Oviposition
usually not far from the leaf tip. From there descends an irregular
blotch mine. Hering (1957a) describes the mine as flat and quite
shallow, giving it a greenish, rather than whitish appearance. Frass
initially in the oldest, upper part of the mine, later in strings.
The larva can leave its mine and restart elsewhere. Normally only
one larva per mine, but sometimes two or even three mines in a leaf.
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).
Yellowish green, head and pronotum pale brown; see Steuer (1987a)
for a detailed description (Bladmineerders van Europa). The larva is illustrated in British
leafminers.
Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).
Anchored externally on the foodplant by a silken girdle (UKMoths).
The pupa is illustrated in British
leafminers.
Adult:
The adult is illustrated in UKMoths.
The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Comments:
Festuca pratensis is treated
as Schedonorus pratensis (Meadow Fescue) by Stace (2010).
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: October - June; July (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: Between May and August in one or two broods
depending on latitude (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Occurring widely in England
and southern Scotland, this species is relatively common in damp
habitats such as river and canal banks and marshes (UKMoths)
including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Caernarvonshire,
Cambridgeshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire,
Dorset, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire,
Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, North Essex, North Northumberland, North Hampshire, North Somerset,
Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Gloucestshire, West Norfolk,
West Suffolk, Westmorland and Wigtownshire (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, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, European Turkey,
Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia
- Central, East and North, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and The
Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
Alopecurus
pratensis, Arrhenatherum
elatius, Bromus
inermis, Calamagrostis
epigejos, Dactylis
glomerata, Elymus
repens,
Festuca pratensis (= Schedonorus
pratensis), Phalaris
arundinacea, Phalaris
canariensis, Phragmites
australis, Poa
compressa |
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.
|