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Hylemyia betuleti Ringdahl, 1935. Notul. ent. 15: 30
Chirosia signata Brischke, 1888. JOURNAL: PAGE. [Preoccupied]
Melinia carinata Tiensu, 1939. Annls ent. Fenn. 5: 245.
Chirosia betuleti (Ringdahl, 1935).

Gall-former: The larva mines the leaves and stems. Tip of frond rolled upwards into a loose, conspicuous mop-head involving many pinnae; inside a white larva mines along rachis causing it to coil (Redfern et al. (2002: 288, fig. 105).

Larva in the leaf tip, that is strongly contorted. An elongated white egg shell is visible at the centre of the mass (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Chirosia betuleti is the only Chirosia species to form galls (Griffiths).

Tip of frond mined by Chirosia betuleti on Dryopteris filix-mas Image: © Willem Ellis (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 de Meijere (1911), who gives an account of the biology, and Ellis (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).

Comments: Ackland in Chandler (1978) did not indicate whether his host record was British or Foreign and is therefore included under 'Hosts in Britain' and 'Hosts elsewhere'.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Woodsiaceae
? Athyrium	filix-femina	Lady-fern		Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 227
Dryopteris				Robbins, 1991: 21
Dryopteris	filix-mas	Male-fern		Robbins, 1991: 21

Hosts elsewhere:

Woodsiaceae
? Athyrium	filix-femina	Lady-fern		Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 227
Athyrium	filix-femina	Lady-fern		Hering, 1957
Athyrium	filix-femina	Lady-fern		Bladmineerders van Europa
Dryopteris	filix-mas	Male-fern		Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: End May - early July (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in the south of Britain; Cornwall, Wiltshire, Worcester, Hants, Norfolk, Merioneth (Mike Ackland, pers. comm.), Warwickshire (Oversley Wood) (Robbins, 1991: 21). Ayrshire, Berkshire, Berwickshire, Caernarvonshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, Easterness, Edinburgh, Fife, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicester, Linlithgow, Main Argyll, Merionethshire, Mid Ebudes, Mid Perthshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, North Ebudes, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, North-east Yorksire, North-west Yorkshire, Oxfordshire, Peebleshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Rosss, West Suffolk, West Sutherland, Westerness and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, ? French mainland, Germany, Italian mainland, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Russia - North and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland and Sweden (Michelsen in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

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