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Egg at the underside of the leaf. The mine is a not very strongly contorted corridor, also not limited to a small portion of the leaf, and usually not forming a secondary blotch. Frass black. The frass line is very narrow, especially in the first section of the mine. In the second part the line may be broader, with the frass dispersed or indistinctly coiled, but always the width of the frass remains less than a third of the width of the corridor (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Mine of Stigmella minusculella on Pyrus communis Image: © Willem Ellis (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).

Bright green; see Gustafsson and van Nieukerken (1990a) and Schoorl (1985a) for a description (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
Pyrus	communis	Pear		British leafminers
Pyrus	communis	Pear		Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae
Pyrus				Belgian Lepidoptera
Pyrus	amygdaliformis			Bladmineerders van Europa
Pyrus	communis	Pear		Bladmineerders van Europa
Pyrus	elaeagrifolia			Bladmineerders van Europa
? Prunus	spinosa			Bladmineerders van Europa, as Pyrus spinosa (unknown European species)
x Sorbopyrus	auricularis			Bladmineerders van Europa

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

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Hertfordshire (NBN Atlas). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Crete, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Dodecanese Is., French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, North Aegean Is., Poland, Romania, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Also recorded in Nearctic region (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: