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(Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera)
by
Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds
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GYPSOPHILA.
Baby's-breath and Gypsophila. [Caryophyllaceae]
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Eight
species of Gypsophila are recorded in Britain. All are introduced
and include Annual Baby's-breath (G. elegans) and Baby's-breath
(G. paniculata).
Four British miners are recorded on Gypsophila.
A key to the European miners recorded on
Gypsophila is provided in Bladmineerders van Europa.
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Key for the identification of the known mines of British
insects (Diptera and non-Diptera) recorded on Gypsophila
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1a > Leaf and stem miner: Eggs
are scattered individually over the leaf upper surface; they are
only loosely attached to the plant. The egg shell has a honeycomb
structure. The larva begins with first mining one of the top leaves
completely out. Next the larva moves down to another leaf, by way
of a tunnel made in the stem. In this way several leaves are mined
out, completely and full depth. In the attacked part of the plant
the stem has become translucent; the damage causes the plant tip
to wilt. In the first mines almost no frass is to be found, further
down it is deposited in coarse grains. Pupation generally outside
the mine (Miles, 1953). |
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On
? Agrostemma, ? Arenaria, Cerastium, ? Dianthus, ? Gypsophila, ? Lychnis,
? Saponaria, Silene, ? Spergularia, ? Stellaria and Vaccaria [Caryophyllaceae], Atriplex, ? Chenopodium, Spinacia [Chenopodiaceae], ? Phlox [Polemoniaceae] in Britain.
Also recorded on other hosts elsewhere. Known only from Warwick
and West Ross in Britain, Europe, Japan, Canada and Alaska.
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Delia echinata (Seguy, 1923) [Diptera: Anthomyiidae]. |
1b > Leaf-miner: A
white linear-blotch mine, the linear section sometimes not detectable
as it becomes enveloped in later blotch (Spencer,
1976: 162-3, figs 296-7).
Upper-surface,
less often lower-surface, corridor, followed, and often overrun,
by a large blotch. Even when the corridor is overun, it usually
remains recognisable in the frass pattern. The mine looks whitish
in the field. The blotch does not contain much frass, in the form
of small black grains, dispersed and stuck to the floor of the mine.
Feeding punctures upper-surface (always?). Pupation outside the
mine.
A common miner, forming a white linear blotch mine (the blotch may obscure the linear portion of the mine) in both native and garden plants.The mine is also illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Life. |
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On Agrostemma, Dianthus, Lychnis, Saponaria, Silene, Stellaria [Caryophyllaceae] and Atriplex, Beta and Spinacia, but not yet on Gypsophila, [Chenopodiaceae] in Britain. Widespread in Britain and continental
Europe. Also Canada.
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Amauromyza
flavifrons (Meigen, 1830) [Diptera: Agromyzidae]. |
1c > Leaf-miner: A short, irregular, linear upper surface mine on any part of the
leaf. Also recorded from young pods (Bland, 1997a).
Long
corridor mine. As a rule the first part of the mine is lower-surface,
the later part upper-surface. Often the loops are so dense that
a secondary blotch is the result. Because upper- and lower-surface
corridor segments often cross, the mine obtains a strange array
of transparant patches. There is no association with the midrib.
Frass in strings and thread fragments. Pupation outside the mine;
exit slit in upper epidermis.
Mine not associated with the veins or midrib of the leaf (It is this character which enables distinction from another Agromyzid pest species - Liriomyza huidobriensis). The larvae may leave one leaf (if not large enough) and enter another leaf, via the petiole). It exits the leaf to pupate through a semi-circular slit in the upper surface of the leaf. |
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Polyphagous. On 119 plant genera in 31 plant families of which only 4 plant genera in 2 plant families, but not yet on Gypsophila, in Britain. Local, probably introduced
to Britain. Widespread in continental Europe particularly in Botanical
Gardens and glasshouses. Also recorded in Egypt.
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Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach, 1858) [Diptera: Agromyzidae]. |
1d > Leaf-miner: Corridor-blotch
mine. The
mine starts as a long, narrow, winding corridor running towards
the midrib, widening to a blotch. Usually upper-surface, but in
small leaves also full-depth parts may occur. The blotch has broad
lobes; in their ends most frass is accumulated in the form of green
patches or clouds. Sometimes several larvae share mine. Pupation
usually in the soil, less often in the leaf (and then generally
not in the mine itself but in a small separated mine, that may even
be made in the petiole). |

Mine of Scaptomyza graminum on Cerastium glomeratum
Image: © Jean-Yves Baugnée (Bladmineerders van Europa) |
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On
? Amaranthus, Cerastium, Lychnis, Myosoton, Nasturtium, Silene, Stellaria, Atriplex,
? Anthyllis, ? Lupinus,
? Medicago, ? Montia and ? Antirrhinum, but not yet on Gypsophila, in Britain.
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Scaptomyza
graminum (Fallén, 1823) [Diptera: Drosophilidae]. |
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