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

 

Cerodontha phragmitidis Nowakowski, 1967
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Cerodontha (Poemyza) phragmitidis Nowakowski, 1967. Polskie Pismo ent. 37(4): 647
Cerodontha (Poemyza) phragmitidis Nowakowski, 1967; Nowakowski, 1972. Polskie Pismo ent. 42(4): 743
Cerodontha (Poemyza) phragmitidis Nowakowski, 1967;Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 104.
Cerodontha (Poemyza) phragmitidis Nowakowski, 1967; Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 190-191, fig. 332
Cerodontha (Poemyza) phragmitidis Nowakowski, 1967; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 356, 368 (fig. 1385), 369.


Mine of Cerodontha phragmitidis: Image: Willem Ellis (Source: Bladmineerders van Europa)

Mine of Cerodontha phragmitidis
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Leaf-miner: A large linear-blotch mine in the leaf blade. Pupation normally in the mine (Spencer, 1976: 190).

Elongated blotch, usually in the distal part of the blade. The mine is mostly interparenchymatous, less frequently lower-surface, and rarely upper-surface. Rather little frass, in fairly large grains, scattered in the mine. Larva generally solitary. Pupation almost always within the mine (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 illustrated in 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).

Metallic black, deeply segmented, narrowing at hind end; posterior spiracular processes knob-like, each with 3 bulbs, at each corner of a large, almost rectangular projection (Spencer, 1976: 190).

The puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Cerodontha phragmitidis puparium
Cerodontha phragmitidis puparium
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Phragmites       Robbins, 1991: 137
Phragmites australis Common Reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Phragmites australis Common Reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 124

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Phragmites australis Common Reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Phragmites australis Common Reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 190
Phragmites australis Common Reed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 369

Time of year - mines: June-September, less often also May and October (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread (Spencer, 1972b 104) including Warwickshire (Dosthill) (Robbins, 1991: 137); Cambridgeshire and Glamorgan (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Sweden and Estonia (Spencer, 1976: 190), The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (Scheirs and de Bruyn, 1992) and Germany (Spencer, 1976: 554), Czech Republic, French mainland, Hungary, Lithuania and Poland (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in Japan (Spencer, 1976: 190).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Phragmites australis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Pnigalio phragmitis (Erdös, 1954) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Exotela flavicoxa (Thomson, 1895) Braconidae: Alysiinae


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


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