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

 

Parornix finitimella (Zeller, 1850)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]

Pointed Slender


Ornix finitimella Zeller, 1850. Stett. ent. Zeit. 11: 162
Parornix finitimella
(Zeller, 1850).


Leaf-miner: Initially a lower epidermal gallery leading to a grey or whitish blotch which contorts the leaf strongly. Then at least two folds on the leaf margin, consuming the upper epidermis (British leafminers).

The mine starts as a lower-surface epidermal corridor, that becomes widened into a blotch. The end result is a small, strongly inflated, tentiform mine between two side veins. The leaf tissue is eaten away up to the upper epidermis. The lower epidermis is opaque, mottled greyish, and strongly folded. Finally the mine is vacated and the larva continues under a leaf tip of margin that has been folded downwards; at least two of such folds are made and eaten out from the inside (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).

Larva grey with black rings on legs (British leafminers).

The larva is illustrated in UKMoths and Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Pupation in a cocoon in folded leaf-margin (British leafminers).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosaceae        
Prunus cerasifera Cherry Plum British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Prunus domestica Wild Plum British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Prunus domestica Wild Plum 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        
Prunus armeniaca Apricot   Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus avium Wild Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus cerasifera Cherry Plum 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 domestica subsp. insititia Bullace  

Bladmineerders van Europa, as Prunus institia

Prunus mahaleb St Lucie Cherry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus padus Bird Cherry   Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus persica Peach 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

Time of year - larvae: June-July, August-October (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: There are two generations, flying in May and again in August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Southern half of England and Wales, ranging northwards to York (UKMoths). including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Devon, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas) and the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Finland, French mainland, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Luxembourg, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, Northwest and South, Sardinia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine. Also recorded in Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Prunus armeniaca, Prunus avium, Prunus cerasifera, Prunus domestica, Prunus domestica subsp. insititia, Prunus mahaleb, Prunus padus, Prunus persica, Prunus spinosa

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Cirrospilus lyncus Walker, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Apanteles xanthostigma (Haliday, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Pholetesor arisba (Nixon, 1973) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Pholetesor circumscriptus (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Diadegma stigmatellae Horstmann, 1980 Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Diadegma holopygum (Thomson, 1887) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae


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