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

 

Phyllonorycter cerasicolella (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]

Cherry Midget


Lithocolletis cerasicolella Herrich-Schäffer, 1855. Schmett. Europ. 5: 326. figs 784-5.
Phyllonorycter cerasicolella
(Herrich-Schäffer, 1855).


Leaf-miner: The mine is underside, between veins, often causing leaf to arch. Several mines may be found in one leaf (British leafminers).

Lower-surface tentiform mine, usually between two side veins, without clear folds (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).

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

Margins of frontal appendage straight. Rear margin of cremaster straigt to convex (Triberti, 2007a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Comments: Treated as a junior synonym of P. spinicolella in Fauna Europaea. Where Malus species grow in proximity of cultived Prunus, mines may occur also on Apple (Tribert, 2007a). (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosacae        
Prunus       Pitkin & Plant
Prunus       UKMoths
Prunus avium Wild Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Prunus avium Wild Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Prunus avium Wild Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Prunus cerasus Dwarf Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Prunus cerasus Dwarf Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Prunus cerasus Dwarf Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosacae        
Prunus        
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 mahaleb St Lucie Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July, September - April (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Two generations, adults flying in May and again in August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Mainly in the southern half on England (UKMoths); including Bedfordshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Middlesex, North Somerset, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East, Northwest and South, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Also recorded in Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Prunus avium, Prunus cerasus, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus mahaleb, Prunus spinosa

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Cirrospilus elegantissimus Westwood, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus lyncus Walker, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae


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
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Last updated 27-Jun-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page