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 utonella Frey, 1856
[Lepidoptera: Elachistidae]

Bog Dwarf

Elachista utonella Frey, 1856. Tin. Pteroph. Schw.: 300
Biselachista utonella (Frey, 1856).

Leaf-miner: The mine begins somewhere halfway the blade as an upwards running corridor. After a while the direction reverses, and an elongate blotch develops occupying half the width of the leaf. Frass, light green at first, grey later, concentrated in the lowest part of the mine. 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).

Yellowish green to greyish; head black, prothoracic plate light brown (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Described by Patocka (1999a) and Patocka and Turcáni (2005a).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Cyperaceae        
Carex       Pitkin & Plant
Carex acutiformis Lesser Pond-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bland

Hosts elsewhere:

Cyperaceae        
Carex acutiformis Lesser Pond-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex brizoides     Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex distans Distant Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex disticha Brown Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex echinata Star Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex elata Tufted-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex flacca Glaucous Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex hirta Hairy Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex muricata Large-fruited Prickly-sedge   Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex paniculata Greater Tussock-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex remota Remote Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex riparia Greater Pond-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex spicata Spiked Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carex vesicaria Bladder-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Scirpus sylvaticus Wood Club-rush British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Juncaceae        
Juncus gerardii Saltmarsh Rush British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Poaceae        
Festuca       Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Mines are found in United Kingdom from March - May, but possibly have two generations as in continental Europe (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, North Hampshire, South Northumberland, South-east Yorkshire, Stafford, West Cornwall, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas).

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, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Carex acutiformis, Carex distans, Carex disticha, Carex echinata, Carex elata, Carex flacca, Carex hirta, Carex muricata, Carex paniculata, Carex remota, Carex riparia, Carex spicata, Carex vesicaria, Juncus gerardii, Scirpus sylvaticus

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, as Biselachista utonella
UKMoths

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 Last updated 18-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page