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

  

Stigmella mespilicola (Frey, 1856)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

Wild-service Pigmy

Nepticula mespilicola Frey, 1856. Tin. Pteroph. Schweiz.: 392.
Nepticula ariella Herrich-Schäffer, 1860. Neue Schmett. 5: 168.
Stigmella mespilicola (Frey, 1856).

Leaf-miner: Rather short, full depth, gradually widening corridor, the last section suddenly widenened still a bit more into an elongated blotch. Frass in a central line, about 1/3 of the width of the corridor. Pupation outside the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Mine of Stigmella mespilicola
Mine of Stigmella mespilicola on Sorbus torminalis
Image: © Guy Meredith (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).

Yellowish green to yellow. The larva is described by Gustafsson and van Nieukerken (1990a) (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 not illustrated in UKMoths (check for update). The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosaceae        
Sorbus aria Common Whitebeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Sorbus aria Common Whitebeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British Leafminers
Sorbus intermedia Swedish Whitebeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British Leafminers
Sorbus torminalis Wild Service-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Sorbus torminalis Wild Service-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British Leafminers

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae        
Amelanchier       Belgian Lepidoptera
Amelanchier parviflora     Bladmineerders van Europa
Cotoneaster       Belgian Lepidoptera
Cotoneaster hissaricus Circular-leaved Cotoneaster   Bladmineerders van Europa, as Cotoneaster racemiflorus
Cotoneaster salicifolia     Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus aria Common Whitebeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Sorbus aria Common Whitebeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus intermedia     Belgian Lepidoptera
Sorbus torminalis Wild Service-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus torminalis Wild Service-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Currently unknown.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Herefordshire, Shropshire, Stafford, West Gloucestershire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, ? Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland, Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Cotoneaster hissaricus, Sorbus aria, Sorbus torminalis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Chrysocharis amanus (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Derostenus punctiscuta Thomson, 1878 Eulophidae: Entedoninae

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		 Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google

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 Last updated 06-Jun-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page