Caryocolum junctella [Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae] in Leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects

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

Caryocolum junctella (Douglas, 1851)
[Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae]

Confluent Groundling

Gelechia junctella Douglas, 1851. Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 2 (1): 103.
Caryocolum junctella (Douglas, 1851).

Leaf-miner: Young larvae make mines, but the mines have not been described. Older larvae live among the tips of the shoots, that are spun together (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larvae of moths have a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding), six thoracic legs and abdominal legs (see examples).

The larva is described by Bland et al., 2002a).

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Caryophyllaceae
Cerastium			Pitkin & Plant
Stellaria	graminea	Lesser Stitchwort	Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Caryophyllaceae
Cerastium	arvense	Field Mouse-ear	Bladmineerders van Europa
Cerastium	glomeratum	Sticky Mouse-ear	Bladmineerders van Europa
Stellaria	graminea	Lesser Stitchwort	Bladmineerders van Europa
Stellaria	media	Common Chickweed	Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: May - early June (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, Flintshire, Glamorgan and South Essex (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central and East, Slovakia, Slovenia, ? Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Cerastium arvense, Cerastium glomeratum, Stellaria graminea, Stellaria media

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


External links:	Search the internet:
Belgian Lepidoptera Biodiversity Heritage Library Bladmineerders van Europa British leafminers Encyclopedia of Life Fauna Europaea NBN Atlas NHM UK Checklist UKMoths	Find using Google Find using Google Scholar Find images using Google


	Last updated 12-Jul-2019 Brian Pitkin