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

 

Ocnerostoma friesei Svensson, 1966
[Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae]

Grey Pine Ermel


Ocnerostoma friesei Svensson, 1966. Opusc. ent. 31: 196, fig'd.


Leaf-miner: The larva feeds within the needle from the tip to base and exits close to the base (British leafminers).

The mine begins at an oval egg on the flat side of the tip of a needle. Working from here the larva mines the needle for about one quarter of its length. Apart from the larval chamber, the entire mine is filled with frass. The full grown larva leaves the mine by an opening made at the end of te mine, then forms a cocoon between a few needles that have been spun together. Only the pupa enables discrimination from O. piniarella (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 illustrated in British leafminers and Bladmineerders van Europa.

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

The pupa and cocoon are llustrated in British leafminers and Bladmineerders van Europa.

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

Comments: Reported occurrences on Abies alba, and especially Juniperus need further confirmation (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Pinaceae        
Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Pinaceae        
Pinus mugo Dwarf Mountain-pine   Bladmineerders van Europa
Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: December - March; June - July; September (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: The species is bi- or trivoltine, with flight periods in March to May, August and sometimes November (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Banffshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dumfrieshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Easterness, Elgin, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, North-east Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Hampshire, Stafford, West Gloucestershire 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, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, ? Romania, Russia - North, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Pinus mugo, Pinus sylvestris

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Bathythrix thomsoni (Kerrich, 1942) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae

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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