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

 

Cedestis subfasciella (Stephens, 1834)
[Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae]

Brown Pine Ermel


Telea subfasciella Stephens, 1834
Argyresthia farinatella Zeller, 1839
Cedestis subfasciella
(Stephens, 1834).


Leaf-miner: A species associated with coniferous woodland, which feeds internally on the needles (UKMoths).

Oviposition on the tip of the flat side of the needle; the egg is oval, smooth, with a characteristic longitudinal keel. From here the mine descends, full depth, towards the base of the needle. The space behind the larva is completely filled with granular frass. The larval chamber is so transparant that the larva inside is easily visible. The larva vacates the mine prior to pupation by a round opening near the end of the mine (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 a green-blue colour (British leafminers). The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

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

Pupation in a white cocoon on the ground. The pupa is initially green, then darkens as it matures (British leafminers).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Pinaceae        
Pinus       British leafminers
Pinus       Pitkin & Plant
Pinus       UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Pinaceae        
Pinus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Pinus mugo Dwarf Mountain-pine   Bladmineerders van Europa
Pinus nigra Austrian Pine / Corsican Pine   Bladmineerders van Europa
Pinus sylvestris Scots Pine British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: December - April (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: The adult moths have quite a long emergence period, from March until July, when they can be attracted to light (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Fairly well distributed throughout Britain, though less common in the north and west (UKMoths), including Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, Easterness, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, Middlesex, North Somerset, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, Stafford, Stirling, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Suffolk and Westmorland (NBN Atlas) and the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad Region, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, North and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Pinus mugo, Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Cirrospilus pinicolus Askew, 1984 Eulophidae: Eulophinae


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

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Last updated 25-Jun-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page