The leaf and stem  mines of British flies and other insects by Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds.


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Chirosia grossicauda Strobl, 1899
[Diptera: Anthomyiidae]
.


Chirosia grossicauda Strobl, 1899. Wien. ent. Ztg. 18: 222.
Chirosia parvicornis auctt., not Zetterstedt, 1845 [Misidentification].


Leaf-mine: The larva mines the lower surface of rachis, close to the lesf tip. The upper surface is left intact, resulting in growth disturbance that causes the leaf tip to strongly curl downwards. Larva generally solitary. Pupation within the roll (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also also described and illustrated in British leafminers.

Mines of Chirosia grossicauda on Pteridium aqulinum. Image: Willem Ellis (Source: Nederlandse bladmineerders)

Mines of Chirosia grossicauda on Pteridium aqulinum
Image: Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Larva: The larva is described by de Meijere (1911) and illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa. The larval mouthparts are illustrated in British leafminers.

Puparium: Details unknown.

Comments: Included in Redfern et al. (2002: 397, fig 645) in keys to galls, although the diagnostic features state the 'white larva mines along main vein'. Ackland in Chandler (1978) did not indicate whether his host record was British or Foreign and is therefore included under 'Hosts in Britain' and 'Hosts elsewhere'.

Hosts in Britain:

Dennstaedtiaceae      

? Pteridium

    Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 227, as parvicornis
Pteridium aquilinum Bracken British leafminers
Pteridium aquilinum Bracken Robbins, 1991: 20

Hosts elsewhere:

Aspleniaceae      
Asplenium     Bladmineerders van Europa
Asplenium     Hennig, 1966-73
Asplenium     Hering, 1957
Dennstaedtiaceae      

? Pteridium

    Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 227, as parvicornis
Pteridium aquilinum Bracken Bladmineerders van Europa
Pteridium aquilinum Bracken Hennig, 1966-73
Pteridium aquilinum Bracken Hering, 1957
Dryopteridaceae      
Dryopteris     Bladmineerders van Europa
Dryopteris     Hennig, 1966-73

Time of year - mines: August - October (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain & Ireland: Common and widely distributed. Dorset, Hants, Cambridge, Sussex (Mike Ackland, pers. comm.); Warwick (Robbins, 1991), East Ross, Easterness and South Devon (NBN Gateway distribution map - DF and HBRG).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Michelsen, in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Grid map:

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in Europe including The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa) and Belgium (Gosseries & Ackland, 1991), Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Lithuanaia, Norwegian mainland, Russia - Central and North, Slovakia, Spanish mainland and Sweden (Michelsen, in Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded East Palaearctic Region (Michelsen, in Fauna Europaea).

NBN interactive distribution maps of known host species in Britain and elsewhere:

Pteridium aquilinum

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Unknown.



External links: Search the internet:

British leafminers
Fauna Europaea
NBN Gateway
Bladmineerders van Europa
.

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Last updated 10-Aug-2010  Brian Pitkin