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

 

Hydrellia albilabris (Meigen, 1830)
[Diptera: Ephydridae]


Notophila albilabris Meigen, 1830. Syst. Beschr. 6: 71
Hydrellia argyria Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830. Essai Myod.: 793.
Hydrellia albilabris (Meigen, 1830).


Leaf-miner: Initially a corridor, with hardly recognisable frass; in due course the entire tthallus is eaten out. Pupation within the mine. (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.

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: Irwin and Chandler in Chandler (1978) did not indicate whether their host records were British or Foreign and are therefore tentatively included under 'Hosts in Britain' and 'Hosts elsewhere'.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Lemnaceae        

? Lemna

minor ? Common Duckweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 224
Potamogeton       Pitkin & Plant
? Spirodela polyrhiza ? Greater Duckweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 224, as Lemna

Hosts elsewhere:

Lemnaceae        

? Lemna

minor ? Common Duckweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 224

Lemna

minor Common Duckweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lemna       Hering, 1957
Spirodela       Hering, 1957
? Spirodela polyrhiza ? Greater Duckweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 224, as Lemna
Spirodela polyrhiza Greater Duckweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: August (Hering 1957a).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Monmouthshire, North Somerset, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South-west Yorkshire, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belkgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Madeira, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Sicily, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Zatwarnicki, 2004 in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Lemna minor, Spirodela polyrhiza

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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