Leaf-mine: A narrow linear leaf-mine, which developes into a large blotch. Several larvae frequently feed together and the resulting mine can entirely fill the leaf (Spencer, 1976: 89).

The mine begins with a narrow, parallel sided corridor af 1-8 cm in length, with a nice double frass line. After the first moult the corridor is succeeded, and mostly overrun, by a large, primary, brown blotch. Frass in the initial corridor in short thread fragments, in the blotch in angular granules and thread fragments that often are branching (the frass is unusally sticky). Primary and secondary feeding lines conspicuous. The final mine often is very large and generally contains several larvae, because normally several mines develop on a leaf, and coalesce into one big blotch. Before pupation the larvae leave the mine through a semicircular exit slit that mostly, but not invariably, is in the upper epidermis (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The initial narrow gallery contains frass in a double line. It then expands to form a blotch mine. Several larvae may occupy a leaf to form a large blotch (British leafminers).

Larva: The white larva is described by Nowakowski (1964), Dempewolf (2001) and is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa. The mandibles each have two teeth and are equal in size (Griffiths, 1962).

Puparium: Reddish brown; posterior spiracles each with 3 bulbs on a short conical protuberance (Spencer, 1976: 89).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - mines: June-October.

Time of year - adults: Unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain (Spencer, 1972: 88) including Hampshire (Fleet) (British leafminers), Warwickshire (Hartshill) (Robbins, 1991: 96), Fife (Aberdour) and Dunbarton (Bonhill) (Spencer, 1956; Bland, 1994c), East Sussex, Glamorgan, South Aberdeen, Surrey, West Gloucestershire and West Suffolk (NBN Gateway).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland: Co. Down (Spencer, 1972: 88).

NBN Grid map: Note that not all datasets on the NBN Gateway may be available on the map below. If you are an NBN Gateway registered user you can request access for missing datasets via the link 'Open interactive map in new window' below.

Distribution elsewhere: Common and widespread throughout most of Europe, including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 88), The Netherlands, Luxembourg (Bladmineerders van Europa) and Germany (Spencer, 1976: 542; Dempewolf, 2001: 51), Austria, ? Corsica, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italian mainland, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland and Yugoslavia (Martinez in Fauna Europaea).

NBN interactive distribution map(s) of known host species in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere:

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Fauna Europaea
NBN Gateway