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

  

Phytomyza stolonigena Hering, 1949
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Phytomyza stolonigena Hering, 1949c. Entomon. 1: 208
Phytomyza stolonigena Hering, 1949c; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the World Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 22, 43, 45 (fig. 165), 50.

Leaf-miner: The larva mines in the petiole, from where it makes corridors fanning out in the blade. The corridors are parallel-sided, little branched and almost full-depth. In fresh mine primary feeding lines are visible. Pupation outside 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).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Ranunculaceae        
Ranunculus repens Creeping Buttercup British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 43

Hosts elsewhere:

Ranunculaceae        
Ranunculus       Spencer, 1990: 22
Ranunculus acris Meadow Buttercup British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa, as Ranunculus acer
Ranunculus bulbosus Bulbous Buttercup British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Ranunculus lanuginosus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Ranunculus lingua Greater Spearwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Ranunculus repens Creeping Buttercup British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

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

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: London (Hampstead) (Spencer, 1990: 43). Main Argyll (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Germany (Mecklenberg) (Spencer, 1990), The Netherlands, Luxembourg (Bladmineerders van Europa), Lithuania and Poland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Ranunculus acris, Ranunculus bulbosus, Ranunculus lingua, Ranunculus repens

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Townsilitus aemulus (Haliday, 1837) Braconidae: Euphorinae
Apodesmia aemula (Haliday, 1836) 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

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