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

  

Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920. Arch. Naturgesch. 84A(7)(1918): 121
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Hendel, 1931. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 118
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 36 (fig. 105), 39, 116
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 109-110, figs 171-2
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 204, 205, 206 (fig. 761).

Leaf-miner: A blotch-mine invariably adjoining margin of leaf (Spencer, 1976: 110, fig. 105).

Upper-surface, yet rather deep, therefore quite transparent, blotch, always along the leaf margin, generally in the distal half of the leaf. The blotch is preceded by a short and broad corridor, most of the time overrun later. Four to eight larvae may co-occur in a leaf. Pupation outside the mine, exit slit in lower epidermis (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larvae of flies are leg-less maggots without a head capsule (see examples). They never have thoracic or abdominal legs. They do not have chewing mouthparts, although they do have a characteristic cephalo-pharyngeal skeleton (see examples), usually visible internally through the body wall.

The larva is described by de Meijere (1925). Posterior spiracles each with 3 bulbs (Spencer, 1976: 110).

Puparium: The puparia of flies are formed within the hardened last larval skin or puparium and as a result sheaths enclosing head appendages, wings and legs are not visible externally (see examples).

Reddish-brown or reddish-orange (Spencer, 1976: 110).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Lamiaceae        
Glechoma hederacea Ground-ivy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1989: 19
Lamium       Robbins, 1991: 102
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Robbins, 1989: 19
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Spencer, 1972b: 116

Hosts elsewhere:

Lamiaceae        
Lamiastrum galeobdolon Yellow Archangel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lamium       Spencer, 1990: 205
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Spencer, 1976: 110
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Bladmineerders van Europa
Lamium maculalatum Spotted Dead-nettle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lamium purpureum Red Dead-nettle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: Larvae in May-early June, in a single generation (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: May.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Uncommon. Buckinghamshire (Slough), Surrey (Bookham) (Spencer, 1972b: 39), Warwickshire (Bodymoor Heath) (Robbins, 1991: 102), Cambridgeshire, East Suffolk, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex and South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 109), The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 546), Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Glechoma hederacea, Lamium album, Lamium purpureum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Miscogaster hortensis Walker, 1833 Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae

External links: Search the internet:
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist		 Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google

XHTML Validator Last updated 07-Oct-2019 Brian Pitkin Top of page