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 pennella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Bugloss Case-bearer

Tinea pennella Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775
Coleophora flavilineella Toll, 1952. Bull. Soc. ent. Mulhouse: 54
Tinea onosmella Brahm, 1791. Scriba Btr. 2: 133, pl. 9 figs 7-8
Coleophora pennella Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775.

Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva feeds in a distinctive case made from hairy leaf fragments of the foodplant (UKMoths).

The young larva feeds on the developing seeds and hibernates in its first case which is made of the tip of a petal. After hibernation it makes a hoary, laterally flattened composite leaf case (resembling a willow catkin). Full depth mines are made at the margin of the leaves, that thereby look peculiarly damaged. Mouth angle 70° (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Initially forms a blotch mine, in the centre of a leaf, which it excises for its initial case. In the spring it repeatedly extends its case and it resembles a jagged catkin of willow (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).

Head and plates black. Body dull yellowish white; prothoracic plate large with median sulcus; mesothoracic plate consisting of four sclerites, the anterior pair dot-like and widely separared, the posterior pair subrtriangular and closely approximated; metathorax with two small, well-separated dorsal sclerites; thoracic segments with small lateral sclerites; an anal plate; four pairs of abdominal prolegs (Emmet et al., 1996a).

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 by Keith Tailby. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Boraginaceae        
Anchusa officinalis Alkanet   British leafminers
Cynoglossum officinale Hound's-tongue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al.

Beavan & Heckford, 2015 (Ent. Rec.)
Echium vulgare Viper's-bugloss British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Echium vulgare Viper's-bugloss British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Echium vulgare Viper's-bugloss British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Pentaglottis sempervirens Green Alkanet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Pentaglottis sempervirens Green Alkanet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Hieracium       Belgian Lepidoptera
Boraginaceae        
Anchusa officinalis Alkanet   Belgian Lepidoptera
Anchusa officinalis Alkanet   Bladmineerders van Europa
Cynoglossum       Belgian Lepidoptera

? Cynoglossum

officinale Hound's-tongue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957
Cynoglossum       Belgian Lepidoptera
Cynoglossum officinale Hound's-tongue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Echium       Belgian Lepidoptera
Echium italicum Pale Bugloss   Bladmineerders van Europa
Echium vulgare Viper's-bugloss British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Echium vulgare Viper's-bugloss British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lithospermum       Belgian Lepidoptera

? Lithospermum

officinale Common Gromwell British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957

Lithospermum

officinale Common Gromwell British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

? Myosotis

      Hering, 1957
Myosotis       Belgian Lepidoptera
Myosotis       Bladmineerders van Europa
Nonea       Bladmineerders van Europa
Onosma       Bladmineerders van Europa
? Pentaglottis       Hering, 1957
Pulmonaria       Belgian Lepidoptera
Pulmonaria officinalis Lungwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

? Pulmonaria

officinalis Lungwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957
? Symphytum officinale Common Comfrey British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957
Symphytum officinale Common Comfrey British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lamiaceae        
Lycopus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Nepeta       Belgian Lepidoptera
Origanum       Belgian Lepidoptera
Stachys       Belgian Lepidoptera
Scrophulariaceae       Belgian Lepidoptera
Verbascum       Belgian Lepidoptera

Time of year - larvae: Larvae are full-grown in end May - early June (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Adults are on the wing in June and July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: An inhabitant of shingle beaches and dry chalky habitats, the recent known distribution of this species is in south-east England and East Anglia, with scattered records elsewhere (UKMoths) including Dorset, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sussex, North Somerset, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas).

Found in dry sandy or calacareous soils or on shingle beaches in the UK (British leafminers).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Crete, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - South, Sicily, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded in Near East and North Africa (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Anchusa officinalis, Cynoglossum officinale, Echium italicum, Echium vulgare, Lithospermum officinale, Pentaglottis sempervirens, Pulmonaria officinalis, Symphytum officinale

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Therophilus mediator (Nees, 1814) Braconidae: Agathidinae
Campoletis ensator (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Gelis agilis (Fabricius, 1775) 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