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

  

Aulagromyza tridentata (Loew, 1858)
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Agromyza tridentata Loew, 1858. Wien. ent. Mschr. 2: 76
Agromyza tridentata Loew, 1858; Hendel, 1932. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 295
Paraphytomyza tridentata (Loew, 1858); Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 67
Paraphytomyza tridentata (Loew, 1858); Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 323-4, figs 586-7.
Paraphytomyza tridentata (Loew, 1858); Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) 81, 93.
Aulagromyza tridentata (Loew, 1858)

Leaf-mine: A yellowish blotch. Pupation internal or external; a large exit slit is cut and the puparium not infrequently remains at the end of the mine (Spencer, 1976: 324).

Yellowish primary blotch, almost invariably lower-surface. Pupation generally outside the mine; less often the puparium is formed in the opening, sometimes even in the closed mine. The exit slit (when made by the larva) has a characteristic shape: a perfect semi-circle (Bladmineerders van Europa).

An elongated yellowish blotch, either upper surface, lower surface or starting lower surface and ending upper surface (British leafminers).

Larva: The larvae of flies are leg-less maggots without a head capsule (see examples). They never have thoracic or abdominal legs. They do not have chewing mouthparts, although they do have a characteristic cephalo-pharyngeal skeleton (see examples), usually visible internally through the body wall.

The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Puparium: The puparia of flies are formed within the hardened last larval skin or puparium and as a result sheaths enclosing head appendages, wings and legs are not visible externally (see examples).

Yellowish-brown; posterior spiracles each with a somewhat irregular ellipse of 20 minute bulbs (Spencer, 1976: 324).

The puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Salicaceae        
Salix       British leafminers
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 120
? Salix euxina or x fragilis ? Crack-willow or Hybrid Carck-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1983: 24
Salix euxina or x fragilis Crack-willow or Hybrid Carck-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Salix triandra Almond Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Salix viminalis Osier British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 120

Hosts elsewhere:

Salicaceae        
Salix       Spencer, 1976: 324
Salix       Spencer, 1990: 93
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix alba White Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 324
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
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. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix euxina or fragilis Crack-willow or Hybrid Carck-willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix myrsinifolia Dark-leaved Willow   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 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. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: July-September.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Surrey, London, Oxford (Spencer, 1972b: 67, as Paraphytomyza), Midlothian (Blackford Hill and Whitehouse Point) and West Lothian (Duddingstone Loch) (Bland, 1994c: 82, vacated mines only), North Somerset and South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Finland, Norway (Spencer, 1976: 323-4), The Netherlands, Luxembourg (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1991), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 566), Italian mainland, Lithuania and Poland (Fauna Europaea).

Also extending eastwards to the Kirghiz Republic of the [former] U.S.S.R. (Spencer, 1976: 323-4).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Salix alba, Salix aurita, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, Salix fragilis, Salix myrsinifolia, Salix pentandra, Salix purpurea, Salix triandra, Salix viminalis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Pediobius metallicus (Nees, 1834) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Diglyphus minoeus (Walker, 1838) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Schimitschekia populi Boucek, 1965 Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Chorebus albipes (Haliday, 1839) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Chorebus alecto (Morley, 1924) Braconidae: Alysiinae

External links: Search the internet:
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist		 Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google

XHTML Validator Last updated 09-Jul-2019 Brian Pitkin Top of page