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 hennigi Nowakowski, 1848
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Chlorops lateralis Zetterstedt, 1848. Dipt. Scand. 7: 2799. [Preoccupied]
Chlorops lateralis Zetterstedt, 1848; Hendel, 1932. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 273
Cerodontha (Cerodontha) hennigi Nowakowski, 1967. Polskie Pismo ent. 37(4): 656. [As nom. nov. ] Cerodontha (Cerodontha) hennigi Nowakowski, 1967; Nowakowski, 1972. Polskie Pismo ent. 42(4): 738
Cerodontha (Cerodontha) hennigi Nowakowski, 1967; Spencer, 1972; Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 105 (fig. 358), 107
Cerodontha (Cerodontha) hennigi Nowakowski, 1967; Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 175-7, figs 314, 317 ['fig. 315' should read 'fig. 317']
Cerodontha (Cerodontha) hennigi Nowakowski, 1967; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 354, 364, 367.


Leaf-miner: A long irregular mine in late summer and autumn, overwintering low in the stem, burrowing into a young leaf and continuing feeding the following spring (Spencer, 1976: 177).

At least part of the mine consists of a very long, narrow, full depth corridor that is almost free of frass. The larva moves from one leaf to the other by way of the leaf sheath; most frass to be found in the leaf sheaths (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) and Dempewolf (2001: 122).

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 unusually slender. Posterior spiracles club-shaped, with about 18 bulbs (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Calamagrostis epigejos Wood Small-reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 123

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Calamagrostis epigejos Wood Small-reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 177
Calamagrostis epigejos Wood Small-reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 364
Calamagrostis epigejos Wood Small-reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: Probably from late autumn to May; hibernation in a leaf sheath (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in England. Huntingdonshire (Woodwalton Fen), Suffolk (Barton Mills), Oxfordshire (Hall Copse) and Cambridgeshire (Chippenham Fen) (Spencer, 1972b: 107); Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Huntingdonshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and South Hampshire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe, including Austria, [former] Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Denmark, Finland, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 177) and France (Bladmineerders van Europa), Czech Republic, Estonia, Italian mainland, Lituania, Poland, Slovakia and Spanish mainland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Calamagrostis epigejos

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.



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