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 coracipennella (Hübner, 1796)
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Blackthorn Case-bearer

Tinea coracipennella Hübner, 1796. Europ. Schmett. 8: 67.
Coleophora coracipennella (Hübner, 1796).

Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva initially makes a blotch mine in the leaf, which it then excises to form its case. The larva overwinters in its case before resuming feeding in spring. A new case, 6-7 mm long, is then constructed from a further blotch mine (UKMoths).

The second case is indistinguishable from C. spinella and C.prunifoliae (British leafminers).

The final case is a tubular leaf case, 6-7 mm long, light brown at first, darker later. The rear end is trivalved, the mouth opening is around 45°. The larvae live at the underside of the leaves, and make sizable full depth mines.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).

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

Pupation occurs within the case in June. In common with many other Coleophora the case is attached to the upper side of a leaf during this stage of the moths life cycle (UKMoths).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosaceae        
Crataegus       British leafminers
Crataegus       Pitkin & Plant
Crataegus       UKMoths
Malus       British leafminers
Malus       Pitkin & Plant
Malus       UKMoths
Prunus       British leafminers
Prunus       UKMoths
Prunus cerasus Dwarf Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Prunus padus Bird Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae        
Cotoneaster       Belgian Lepidoptera
Cotoneaster       Bladmineerders van Europa
Crataegus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Crataegus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Malus sylvestris Crab Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Prunus avium Wild Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus cerasus Dwarf Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus domestica Wild Plum British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus padus Bird Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Sorbus aucuparia Rowan British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September to May (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: A single generation from mid-June to the end of July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Scattered colonies throughout the UK (British leafminers) including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Durham, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Hereforshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, Shropshire, South Essex, South Hampshire, South Somerset, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas) and the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Madeira, Romania, Russia - South, Sicily and Switzerland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Malus sylvestris, Prunus avium, Prunus cerasus, Prunus domestica, Prunus padus, Prunus spinosa, Sorbus aucuparia

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Apanteles corvinus Reinhard, 1880 Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Dolichogenidea dilecta (Haliday, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Apodesmia rufipes (Wesmael, 1835) Braconidae: Opiinae
Orgilus rugosus (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Orgilinae
Campoplex jaeckhi (Bauer, 1936) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Pristomerus vulnerator (Panzer, 1799) Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae
Gelis areator (Panzer, 1804) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Gelis cinctus (Linnaeus, 1758) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Hemiteles bipunctator (Thunberg, 1822) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae

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