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

 

Leucoptera malifoliella (O. Costa, 1836)
[Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae]

Pear Leaf Blister Moth


Elachista malifoliella O. Costa, 1836. Samml. Europ. Schmett. Tinea 28: 195.
Opostega scitella
Zeller, 1839. Isis.: 214.
Leucoptera malifoliella
(O. Costa, 1836).


Leaf-miner: A circular or oval brownish blotch with a central spiral of dense blackish frass (British leafminers), sometimes several mines in one leaf (UKMoths).

Oviposition is at the leaf underside, well away from the leaf margin; the egg has a fine reticulate surface. The mine is a rather large, perfectly circular blotch without a trace of a preceeding corridor. Around the dark centre the frass, glued to the upper epidermis is arranged in distinct arcs (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 larva is pale green with a dark head (British leafminers).

The larva is also illustrated in UKMoths and Bladmineerders van Europa.

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

Pupation in a silken cocoon, usually on detritus (British leafminers). Described by Patocka (2000a) (Bladmineerders van Europa) and illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Life.

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Betulaceae        
Betula       Emmet, 1985a
Rosaceae        
Cotoneaster       Pitkin & Plant
Crataegus       British leafminers
Crataegus       Pitkin & Plant
Crataegus       UKMoths
Cydonia oblonga Quince British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Malus       British leafminers
Malus       Pitkin & Plant
Prunus       Pitkin & Plant
Pyrus communis Pear Pitkin & Plant
Rosa       British leafminers
Sorbus       British leafminers
Sorbus       Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Betulaceae        
Alnus incana Grey Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Betula       Belgian Lepidoptera
Betula pendula Silver Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Betula pubescens Downy Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosaceae       Belgian Lepidoptera
Amelanchier ovalis Snowy Mespilus   Bladmineerders van Europa
Aronia       Bladmineerders van Europa
Chaenomeles       Belgian Lepidoptera
Chaenomeles japonica Japanese quince British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Cotoneaster       Belgian Lepidoptera
Cotoneaster integerrimus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Crataegus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Crataegus crus-galli Cockspurthorn   Bladmineerders van Europa
Crataegus monogyna Hawthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Cydonia       Belgian Lepidoptera
Cydonia oblonga Quince British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Malus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Malus baccata Siberian Crab   Bladmineerders van Europa
Malus floribunda Japanese Crab British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Malus pumila Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al.

Bladmineerders van Europa, as Malus domestica

Malus sylvestris Crab Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Malus sylvestris Crab Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Cydonia       Belgian Lepidoptera
Mespilus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Mespilus germanica Medlar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Prunus avium Wild Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus cerasifera Cherry Plum British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus cerasus Dwarf Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus domestica Wild Plum   Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus fruticosa Bullace   Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus domestica subsp. insititia     Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus subhirtella     Bladmineerders van Europa
Pyrus communis Pear Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus aucuparia Rowan British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Sorbus aucuparia Rowan British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: August-September (British leafminers; UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: The adult moths fly in June and July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in England and into southern Scotland including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Wiltshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, South Northumberland, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

This species can be rather erratic in its occurrence and can be quite a difficult species to track down. In some years there is a population explosion when it appears commonly, but in between can be quite uncommon (UKMoths).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, European Turkey, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad Region, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Alnus incana, Amelanchier ovalis, Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Chaenomeles japonica, Cotoneaster integerrimus, Crataegus crus-galli, Crataegus monogyna, Cydonia oblonga, Malus baccata, Malus floribunda, Malus pumila, Malus sylvestris, Mespilus germanica, Prunus avium, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus cerasus, Prunus domestica, Prunus domestica subsp. insititia, Prunus spinosa, Pyrus communis, Sorbus aucuparia

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Achrysocharoides atys (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis nephereus (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis nitetis (Walker, 1939) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Closterocerus trifasciatus Westwood, 1833 Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Pediobius pyrgo (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Cirrospilus lyncus Walker, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Pnigalio agraules (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Pnigalio longulus (Zetterstedt, 1838) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Baryscapus nigroviolaceus (Nees, 1834) Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae
Quadrastichus vacuna (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae

Pteromalus semotus (Walker, 1834)

Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Apanteles obscurus (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Apanteles corvinus Reinhard, 1880 Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Pholetesor bicolor (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Pholetesor circumscriptus (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Rhysipolis decorator (Haliday, 1836) Braconidae: Rhysipolinae


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
Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
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Last updated 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page