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

 

Coleophora conspicuella Zeller, 1849
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Knapweed Case-bearer


Coleophora conspicuella Zeller, 1849. Linn. ent. 4: 236.


Leaf-miner and case-bearer: A relatively large (12-15 mm), dark brown, lightly curved two-valved sheath case with a narrow ventral keel. Mouth angle 30-45 (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The case is also illustrated in British Leafminers.

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).

Described by Suire (1961a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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:

Asteraceae        
Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Aster       Belgian Lepidoptera
Aster       Hering, 1957
Aster amellus European Michaelmas-daisy   Bladmineerders van Europa
Aster linosyris Goldilocks Aster British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Centaurea       Belgian Lepidoptera
Centaurea aspera     Bladmineerders van Europa
Centaurea brachycephalum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Centaurea jacea Brown Knapweed   Belgian Lepidoptera
Centaurea jacea Brown Knapweed   Bladmineerders van Europa
Centaurea montana     Bladmineerders van Europa
Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Centaurea scabiosa Greater Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chrysanthemum       Hering, 1957
Dipsacaceae       Belgian Lepidoptera
Scabiosa columbaria Small Scabious British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957

Time of year - larvae: May (Emmet et al., 1996a).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including South Essex (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central and South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also East Palaearctic and Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Aster amellus, Aster linosyris, Centaurea aspera, Centaurea jacea, Centaurea montana, Centaurea nigra, Centaurea scabiosa, Scabiosa columbaria

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Agathis fuscipennis (Zetterstedt, 1838) Braconidae: Agathidinae
Orgilus rugosus (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Orgilinae
Campoletis femoralis (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Chirotica maculipennis (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Gelis agilis (Fabricius, 1775) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Gelis meigenii (Förster, 1850) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Scambus brevicornis (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae


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 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page