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

  

Stigmella salicis (Stainton, 1854)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

Sallow Pigmy

Nepticula salicis Stainton, 1854. Ins. Brit. Lep. Tin. Pteroph.: 302
Stigmella salicis (Stainton, 1854).

Leaf-miner: A contorted gallery leading to small blotch (British leafminers).

Egg at the underside of the leaf, mostly close to a vein or the leaf margin. The mine, a corridor, is rather variable, mostly strongly contorted, sometimes even forming a secondary blotch, but at times only a little sinuous, running along a vein or following the leaf margin. The frass line is broad, especially in the first half of the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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 amber yellow, head brown (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).

The cocoon is illustrated in British leafminers.

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Myricaceae        
Myrica gale Bog-myrtle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salicaceae        
Salix        
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Myricaceae        
Myrica gale Bog-myrtle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Myrica gale Bog-myrtle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salicaceae        
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix arbuscula Mountain Willow   Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix atrocinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix babylonica Weeping Crack-willow   Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix daphnoides European Violet-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix euxina or x fragilis Crack-willow or Hybrid Crack-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix glabra     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix lanata Woolly Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix pentandra Bay Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix purpurea Purple Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix repens Creeping Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix reticulata Net-leaved Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix retusa     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix silesiaca     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix triandra Almond Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

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

Time of year - adults: On the wing in April and May and again in July and August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A common species throughout the British Isles (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Anglesey, Ayrshire, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, East Sutherland, Easterness, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Devon, North Ebudes, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Essex, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Ross, West Suffolk, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and North, Sardinia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Also recorded in East Palaearctic (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Myrica gale, Salix alba, Salix arbuscula, Salix atrocinerea, Salix aurita, Salix babylonica, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, Salix daphnoides, Salix fragilis, Salix lanata, Salix pentandra, Salix purpurea, Salix repens, Salix reticulata, Salix triandra, Salix viminalis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Parablastothrix vespertina Mercet, 1917 Encyrtidae: Encyrtinae
Chrysocharis budensis Erdös, 1954 Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis nephereus (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis prodice (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Derostenus gemmeus Westwood, 1840 Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Derostenus punctiscuta Thomson, 1878 Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Cirrospilus diallus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Adelius erythronotus (Förster, 1851) Braconidae: Cheloninae
Adelius subfasciatus Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Cheloninae
Gnamptodon pumilio (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Gnamptodontinae
Mirax rufilabris Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Miracinae

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
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google

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 Last updated 12-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page