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

 

Mompha langiella (Hübner, 1796)
[Lepidoptera: Momphidae]

Clouded Cosmet


Tinea langiella Hübner, 1796
Alucita epilobiella
Römer, 1794. Berl. Schwi. Ger. natruf. 11: 162
Mompha fulicella
Herrich-Schäffer, 1854
Elachista niveipunctella
Stainton, 1849. Schmett. Europ.: 966.
Adela unipunctella
Duponchel, in Godart 1839
Mompha langiella
(Hübner, 1796).


Leaf-miner: A narrow contorted gallery leading to a whitish blotch with scattered frass centrally. The early gallery can merge with the blotch and there are often several to a leaf (British leafminers).

The larva begins by making a full depth corridor, erratic in width and course; frass black, in an irregular central line. Later the larva makes a blotch, with frass in irregular clouds. This blotch can be a continuation of the corridor, but may just as well be on a different leaf. Often several mines in a leaf; in such cases the entire leaf me be mined out. Mines white at first, turning brown later. The larva lies venter-upwards in the mine. Pupation external 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).

The larva is light yellow, with darker thoracic legs (British leafminers). The larva is also illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

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

Occasionally in a mined leaf or in a cocoon between the leaves or on the leaves (British leafminers).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths and the Encyclopedia of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Onagraceae        
Circaea lutetiana Enchanter's-nightshade British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Circaea lutetiana Enchanter's-nightshade British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Circaea lutetiana Enchanter's-nightshade British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Epilobium       UKMoths
Epilobium hirsutum Great Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Epilobium hirsutum Great Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Epilobium parviflorum Broad-leaved Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Onagraceae        
Chamerion angustifolium Rosebay Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Circaea x intermedia Upland Enchanter's-nightshade British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Circaea lutetiana Enchanter's-nightshade British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Circaea lutetiana Enchanter's-nightshade British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium hirsutum Great Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Epilobium hirsutum Great Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al.

Bladmineerders van Europa, as Epilobium collinum

Epilobium parviflorum Hoary Willowherb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: June - July (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Distributed locally in southern and western England and Wales, there are also scattered records from further north (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Breconshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, North Devon, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Somerset, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Russia - Central, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Chamerion angustifolium, Circaea x intermedia, Circaea lutetiana, Epilobium hirsutum, Epilobium montanum, Epilobium parviflorum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Diadegma latungulum (Thomson, 1887) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae


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 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page