Leaf-miner: A long, whitish smoothly-curved upper-surface mine with broken black
frass (British
leafminers).
Oviposition
is by means of an ovipositor; what remains is a small scar: no egg
shell is visible at the start of the mine. From here a long, sometimes
very long, slender, full depth corridor winds throught the leaf,
not steered by leaf margin or the leaf venation. The midrib is crossed
effortless (see 'special'); the corridor frequently also crosses
itself; the section of the leaf cut off then usally turns brown
and dies off. Frass in a narrow central line. The larva vacates
the mine prior to pupation through an exit in the upper epidermis.
The vacated larval chamber is proportionally much
longer than in the case of Stigmella mines (> 3 x longer
than broad). Pupation takes place in a cocoon that hangs in a 'hammock' in a
fold of the leaf (Bladmineerders van Europa).
The
mine is also illustrated in UKMoths.
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).
Deeply
segmented (British
leafminers).
The
larva is illustrated in 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 suspended from threads attached to food plant
or other vegetation (British
leafminers). The
cocoon is also illustrated in UKMoths.
Adult:
The adult is illustrated in UKMoths and the Encyclopedia
of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Comments:
Mines on Prunus serotina are usually, and those on Prunus
laurocarasus practically always abortive (Bladmineerders van Europa).
Possibly
in part because of its abundance there are some references to xenophagy:
Humulus lupulus and Salix caprea (Klimesch, 1957a;
Huber, 1969a); Castanea sativa and Ribes (Hering,
1957a); Quercus (Robbins, 1991a); Rhamnus catharticus (Ellis, 2001a) (Bladmineerders van Europa)
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: The species has two or more broods, with the
later ones overwintering and reappearing in the spring (UKMoths).
May; July; September-October (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: The adults fly at night and are attracted
to light (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Common throughout Britain (UKMoths)
including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire,
Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, East Cornwall,
East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, East Sutherland, Easterness, Fife, Flintshire, Glamorgan,
Haddington, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire,
Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Linlithgow, Main Argyll, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire,
Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Northamptonshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon,
South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire,
South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire,
West Kent, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sussex, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas).
See also British
leafminers distribution map.
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,
Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Crete, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek
mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad Region, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese
mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and Northwest, Sardinia,
Sicily, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands,
Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
Amelanchier lamarckii, Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Castanea
sativa, Chaenomeles japonica, Cotoneaster affinis, Cotoneaster salicifolius, Cotoneaster
simonsii, Cotoneaster
x watereri, Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus mollis, Crataegus monogyna, Crataegus crus-galli, Cydonia oblonga, Humulus
lupulus, Malus baccata, Malus pumila, Mespilus germanica, Malus sylvestris, Prunus armeniaca, Prunus avium, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus cerasus, Prunus domestica, Prunus domestica
subsp. insititia, Prunus laurocerasus, Prunus mahaleb, Prunus padus, Prunus pensylvanica, Prunus persica, Prunus serotina, Prunus serrulata, Prunus spinosa, Pyracantha coccinea, Pyrus communis, Rhamnus
catharticus, Salix
caprea, Sorbus aria, Sorbus aucuparia, Sorbus domestica, Sorbus
hybrida, Sorbus intermedia, Sorbus
pseudofennica,
Sorbus
subcuneata |
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
Chalcidoidea |
|
Achrysocharoides cilla (Walker, 1839) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Achrysocharoides niveipes (Thomson, 1878) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Asecodes delucchii (Boucek, 1971) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Asecodes erxias (Walker, 1848) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Chrysocharis budensis Erdös, 1954 |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Chrysocharis nephereus (Walker, 1839) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Chrysocharis
nitetis (Walker, 1939) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Chrysocharis
pubicornis (Zetterstedt, 1838) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Closterocerus lyonetiae (Ferrière, 1952) |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Closterocerus
trifasciatus Westwood, 1833 |
Eulophidae: Entedoninae |
Colpoclypeus florus (Walker 1839) |
Eulophidae: Eulophinae |
Cirrospilus
vittatus Walker, 1838 |
Eulophidae: Eulophinae |
Pnigalio longulus (Zetterstedt, 1838) |
Eulophidae: Eulophinae |
Sympiesis gordius (Walker, 1839) |
Eulophidae: Eulophinae |
Aprostocetus
diversus Förster, 1848 |
Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae |
Aprostocetus femoralis (Sundby, 1957) |
Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae |
Baryscapus nigroviolaceus (Nees, 1834) |
Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae |
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available |
|
Apanteles corvinus Reinhard, 1880 |
Braconidae: Microgastrinae |
Pholetesor
viminetorum (Wesmael, 1837) |
Braconidae: Microgastrinae |
Dadegma holopygum (Thomson, 1887) |
Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae |
|