Leaf-miner: The mine is upper side and silvery, over the midrib. Leaf later
may fold upwards, concealing the mine (British
leafminers).
Oviposition
is on the base of the midrib. From there an epidermal corridor is
made, running towards the leaf tip. The corridor then is widened
into an epidermal, silvery blotch, finally into a longitudinally
contracted tentiform mine. Frass in fine, shining grains, mostly
in a line over the midrib, rarely in a mass in a corner of the mine.
The epidermis of the mine has a number of yellow spots, but never
the black specks that are apparent in P.
corylifoliella (Bladmineerders van Europa).
The
mine is also illustrated in UKMoths, on the Royal Horticultural Society's website and on iSpot.
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 Bladmineerders van Europa.
Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).
The
pupa is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.
Adult:
The adult is illustrated in UKMoths.
The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.
Comments:
When population densities become high in summer also other Rosaceae
may be infested, like Chaenomeles; Cotoneaster lucidus; Crataegus;
Cydonia oblonga; Malus; Pyracantha coccinea; Pyrus; Sorbus torminalis.
Because only Pyracantha keeps its foliage in winter, and
leucographella larvae do not have a diapause, this is their
normal home base (Sefrová. 1999a; Triberti, 2007a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: July, October - April. The larva in the autumn
generation over winters in the mine (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: Having a number of generations, the adults
can be found between April and October (UKMoths).
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Discovered in Essex in 1989,
this species has spread rapidly northwards through England to parts
of north York, and is now fairly common in gardens and other suburban
habitats (UKMoths)
including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire,
Cheshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Dumfriesshire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan,
Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Mid-west Yorkshire,
Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, Monmouthshire, North Hampshire, North Somerset,
Northamptonshire, Shropshire, Lancashire, South Lancashire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Gloucestershire,
West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas). See also British
leafminers distribution map.
Distribution
elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria,
Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, French mainland,
Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Poland, Slovakia,
Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
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