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

  

Chirosia nigripes Bezzi, 1895
[Diptera: Anthomyiidae]

Chirosia nigripes Bezzi, 1895. Bull. Soc. ent. ital. 27 (1): 63
Chirosia albifrons Tiensu, 1938. Annls ent. fenn. 4: 22.

Leaf-mine: Ovipisition on the upper part of the rachis of an unrolling leaf. The larva bores into the rachis, causing the distal part of the leaf to become stunted and finally necrotic. Often several larvae in a mine. Pupation outside the mine (Brown and McGavin, 1982a).

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.

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).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland: Currently unknown.

Hosts elsewhere:

Dennstaedtiaceae        
Pteridium aquilinum Bracken Bracken - Pteridium aquilinum Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: Larvae from spring to end June; hibernation as puparium in the ground (Brown and McGavin, 1982a).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Huntingdonshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Norfolk, Glamorgan, Suffolk, Ross and Cromarty, Elgin (Mike Ackland, pers. comm.); Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Elgin, Glamorgan, Isle of Wight, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, South Hampshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford and West Ross (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Finland, Germany, Italian mainland, Russia - North and Sweden (Michelsen in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Pteridium aquilinum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.

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 04-Dec-2017 Brian Pitkin Top of page
p"> Aspleniaceae         Asplenium       Hering, 1957 Asplenium       Bladmineerders van Europa Blechnaceae         Blechnum       Hering, 1957 Blechnum spicant Hard Fern British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Dennstaedtiaceae        

? Pteridium

      Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 227 Pteridium aquilinum Bracken Bracken - Pteridium aquilinum Hering, 1957 Pteridium aquilinum Bracken Bracken - Pteridium aquilinum Bladmineerders van Europa Dryopteridaceae         Dryopteris       Hering, 1957 Dryopteris filix-mas Male-fern British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Polystichum       Hering, 1957 Polypodiaceae         Polypodium       Hering, 1957 Polypodium       Bladmineerders van Europa Onocleaceae         Matteuccia       Hering, 1957 Matteuccia struthiopteris Ostrich Feather Fern British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Osmundaceae         Osmunda       Hering, 1957 Osmunda regalis Royal fern British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Woodsiaceae         Athyrium       Hering, 1957 Athyrium filix-femina Lady-fern British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Cystopteris       Hering, 1957 Cystopteris fragilis Brittle Bladder-fern British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: June-October.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Devon, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Sutherland, Perthshire, Inverness, Argyllshire, Ross and Cromarty, Elgin (Mike Ackland, pers. comm.), Warwickshire (Allesley) (Robbins, 1991: 19-20); Anglesey, Berkshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Ross, East Sussex, Easterness, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Herefordshire, Main Argyll, Mid-west Yorkashire, Monmouthshire, North Ebudes, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Ross, West Suffolk, West Sutherland, Westerness, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including The Netherlands and Luxembourg (Bladmineerders van Europa), Austria, ? Corsica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Italian mainland, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Russia - East, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden and Yugoslavia (Michelsen in Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in East Palaearctic and Near East (Michelsen in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Asplenium ruta-muraria, Athyrium filix-femina, Blechnum spicant, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Pteridium aquilinum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Pnigalio soemius (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Stictomischus scaposus Thomson, 1876 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 09-Jul-2019 Brian Pitkin Top of page