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 mobilis Meigen, 1830
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Agromyza mobilis Meigen, 1830. Syst. Beschr. 6: 169
Agromyza mobilis Meigen, 1830; Hendel, 1931. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 132
Agromyza mobilis Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 33, 125
Agromyza mobilis Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 123, figs 206-7.
Agromyza mobilis Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 356, 359.

Leaf-miner: Long upper-surface corridor usually containing several larvae that graze shoulder to shoulder from the leaf tip downwards. Pupation outside the mine. Mines and larvae are indistinguishable from those of A. nigrella (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.

Larval mandibles with two teeth; posterior spiracles far apart (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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).

The puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Agromyza mobilis puparium
Agromyza mobilis puparium
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Bromopsis ramosa Hairy-brome British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1991: 135
Bromus       Pitkin & Plant
Elymus caninus Bearded Couch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Elymus repens Common Couch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1989: 19
Holcus       Robbins, 1991: 135
Phleum       Pitkin & Plant
Phleum pratense Timothy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Triticum aestivum Bread Wheat   Spencer, 1972b: 125

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Alopecurus pratensis Meadow Foxtail British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Arrhenatherum elatius False Oat-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Avenula       Bladmineerders van Europa
Brachypodium sylvaticum False Brome British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Briza       Bladmineerders van Europa
Bromopsis ramosa Hairy-brome British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Calamagrostis       Bladmineerders van Europa
Echinochloa crus-galli Cockspur British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Festuca       Bladmineerders van Europa
Holcus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Hordeum murinum Wall Barley British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Hordeum vulgare Six-rowed Barley   Bladmineerders van Europa
Lolium       Bladmineerders van Europa
Milium effusum Wood Millet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Phalaris       Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa       Bladmineerders van Europa
Secale cereale Rye   Bladmineerders van Europa
Triticum       Spencer, 1976: 123
Triticum       Spencer, 1990: 356
Triticum aestivum Bread Wheat   Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: June.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Derby (Miller's Dale), Stafford (Newcastle-under-Lyme), Northumb. (Wooler), Yorkshire (Burely in Wharfedale), Perth (Spencer, 1972b: 33); Warwickshire (Brinklow) (Robbins, 1991: 135) and Anglesey, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Elgin, Glamorgan, Huntingdonshire, Middlesex, North Devon, North Hampshire, North-east Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey and West Norfolk (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread and common in continental Europe including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Italy (Spencer, 1976: 123), Belgium (Scheirs, de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1996), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 546), Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden and Switzerland (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in Japan by Sasakawa (1961), although the accompanying illustration of the genitalia suggests that a [different but] closely related species is involved (Spencer, 1990).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Alopecurus pratensis, Arrhenatherum elatius, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Bromopsis ramosa, Echinochloa crus-galli, Elymus caninus, Elymus repens, Hordeum murinum, Hordeum vulgare, Milium effusum, Phleum pratense, Secale cereale, Triticum aestivum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Hemiptarsenus unguicellus (Zetterstedt, 1838) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Pnigalio pectinicornis (Linnaeus, 1758) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Apodesmia rufipes (Wesmael, 1835) Braconidae: Opiinae

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

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