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

 

Cerodontha atra (Meigen, 1830)
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Agromyza atra Meigen, 1830. Syst. Beschr. 6: 178
Cerodontha (Poemyza) atra (Meigen, 1830); Nowakowski, 1962. Annls zool., Warsz. 20: 123
Cerodontha (Poemyza) atra (Meigen, 1830); Nowakowski, 1967. Polskie Pismo ent. 37: 646
Cerodontha (Poemyza) atra (Meigen, 1830); Nowakowski, 1972. Polskie Pismo ent. 42(4): 743
Cerodontha atra (Meigen, 1830); Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 103 (fig. 353), 104
Cerodontha (Poemyza) atra (Meigen, 1830); Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 188-9, fig. 330
Cerodontha (Poemyza) atra (Meigen, 1830); Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 354, 367, 368 (fig. 1376).


Leaf-mine: Lower-surface corridor in the top half the leaf blade; the mine changes direction at least two times. One to three larvae in a mine. Frass in rather regular granules (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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 described by Nowakowski (1973). The description of the larva by de Meijere (1925a) is based on material from Phragmites, and therefore refers to C. phragmitidis (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).

The puparium is described by Nowakowski (1973). Pupation mostly outside the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Phragmites       Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Agrostis       Spencer, 1990: 357
Agrostis stolonifera Creeping Bent British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 188
Agrostis stolonifera Creeping Bent British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Calamagrostis       Spencer, 1990: 354
Calamagrostis epigejos Wood Small-reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 188
Calamagrostis epigejos Wood Small-reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Dactylis       Pitkin & Plant
Dactylis       Robbins, 1991

Time of year - mines: July-August (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: May, August.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Probably widespread at least in southern England. Records include Kent (Otford), Surrey (Box Hill) (Spencer, 1972b: 104), Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Glamorgan, North Hampshire, North Somerset and South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread and common in continental Europe including Denmark, Sweden, Finland (Spencer, 1976: 188), Belgium (Scheirs, de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1995), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 554), Austria, Belarus, Corsica, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Agrostis alba, Agrostis stolonifera, Calamagrostis epigejos

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis polyzo (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae


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 28-Mar-2018 Brian Pitkin Top of page

ecta/diptera/brachycera/agromyzidae/phytomyzinae/cerodontha/cerodontha-angulata/" target="_blank">Bladmineerders van Europa Carex flava Large Yellow-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex hirta Hairy Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex otrubae False Fox-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex ovalis Oval Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex paniculata Greater Tussock-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex pendula Pendulous Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex pilosa     Bladmineerders van Europa Carex pseudocyperus Cyperus Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex remota Remote Sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex riparia Greater Pond-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex sylvatica Wood-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex vesicaria Bladder-sedge British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Carex vulpina True Fox-sedge   Bladmineerders van Europa Scirpus       Spencer, 1990: 351 Scirpus sylvaticus Wood-sedge   Spencer, 1976: 205 Scirpus sylvaticus Wood-sedge   Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: September, November.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in the southern Britain including London (Hampstead), Middlesex (Scratch Wood), Dorset (Lyme Regis), Glam. (Spencer, 1972b: 100), Warwickshire (Coventry) (Robbins, 1991: 133) and Cardiganshire, East Sutherland, Leicestershire and Surrey (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Sweden, Norway (Spencer, 1976: 205), The Netherlands, Luxembourg (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (Scheirs, de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1995), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 554; Dempewolf, 2001: 113), Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, European Turkey, French mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in Canada and the U.S.A. (Spencer, 1976: 205).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Carex acuta, Carex acutiformis, Carex flacca, Carex flava, Carex hirta, Carex otrubae, Carex ovalis, (= Carex leporina), Carex paniculata, Carex pendula, Carex pseudocyperus, Carex remota, Carex riparia, Carex sylvatica, Carex vesicaria, Carex vulpina, Scirpus sylvaticus

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis polyzo (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Pediobius metallicus (Nees, 1834) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Halticoptera aenea (Walker, 1833) Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae
Halticoptera circulus (Walker, 1833) Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Chorebus humeralis Griffiths, 1968 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Chorebus transversus (Nixon, 1954) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Dapsilarthra sylvia (Haliday, 1839) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Eurytenes abnormis (Wesmael, 1835) Braconidae: Opiinae
Opius pallipes Wesmael, 1835 Braconidae: Opiinae


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