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

 

Ophiomyia melandryi de Meijere, 1924
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]


Ophiomyia melandryi de Meijere, 1924. Tijdschr. Ent. 67: 137
Ophiomyia melandryi de Meijere, 1924; Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 28 (fig. 70), 30 (fig. 71), 31, 110
Ophiomyia melandryi de Meijere, 1924; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the World Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 63, 68 (fig. 254), 69.


Stem-borer: Larva feeding inside hollow stem. Pupation internal (Spencer, 1972b: 31).

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).

Brown; posterior spiracles each with 12-13 bulbs in a regular ellipse (Spencer, 1972b: 31).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Caryophyllaceae        
Silene dioica Red Campion British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Silene dioica Red Campion British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1991: 35
Silene dioica Red Campion British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 110

Hosts elsewhere:

Caryophyllaceae        
Silene       Spencer, 1990: 63

Time of year - mines: July-August.

Time of year - adults: May.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread. Surrey (Godalming), Somerset (Radstock), Cornwall (Carbis Bay), Suffolk (Barton Mills), Derby (Miller's Dale), Wales (Llanridian), Dunbartonshire (Bonhill) (Spencer, 1972b: 31), Warwickshire (Robbins, 1991: 35); East Cornwall, Nottinghamshire and South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Europe (Spencer, 1990: 69) including Czech Republic, Germany, Italian mainland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Silene dioica

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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