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

 

Scrobipalpa atriplicella (Fischer von Röslerstamm, 1841)
[Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae]

Goosefoot Groundling


Lita atriplicella Fischer von Röslerstamm, 1841. Schmett.-kunde.: 223, t. 78.
Scrobipalpa atriplicella
(Fischer von Röslerstamm, 1841).


Leaf-miner: Young larvae make irregular corridor-like or blotch-like mines from a silken tube. The mines contain almost no frass (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).

Greenish yellow, with five pale pink length lines; head yellowish brown, prothoracic and anal plates green (Jansen, 1999a; Bland et al., 2002a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Described by Patočka and Turčáni (2005a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Chenopodiaceae        
Atriplex       Pitkin & Plant
Chenopodium       Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Chenopodiaceae        
Atriplex laciniata Frosted Orache British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex patula Common Orache British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex portulacoides Sea-purslane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa, as Halimione portulacoides
Atriplex prostrata Spear-leaved Orache British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex tatarica     Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium album Fat-hen British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium ficifolium Fig-leaved Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium hybridum Maple-leaved Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium murale Nettle-leaved Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: June and September - October (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cardiganshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Haddington, Hertforshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Middlesex, South Hampshire, South Northumberland, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Shetland (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, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, European Turkey, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Iceland, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, East, North, Northwest and South, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Atriplex laciniata, Atriplex patula, Atriplex portulacoides, Atriplex prostrata, Atriplex tatarica, Chenopodium album, Chenopodium ficifolium, Chenopodium hybridum, Chenopodium murale

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Agathis fuscipennis (Zetterstedt, 1838) Braconidae: Agathidinae
Agathis nigra Nees, 1812 Braconidae: Agathidinae
Apanteles metacarpalis (Thomson, 1895) Braconidae: Macrocentrinae
Apanteles xanthostigma (Haliday, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Rhysipolis decorator (Haliday, 1836) Braconidae: Rhysipolinae
Rhysipolis meditator (Haliday, 1836) Braconidae: Rhysipolinae
Cremastus infirmus Gravenhorst, 1829 Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae
Pristomerus vulnerator (Panzer, 1799) Ichneumonidae: Cremastinae


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 19-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page