Leaf-mine: Blotch mines, generally occupying an entire leaf, usually containing several larvae. Much, half deliquescent, green frass (Bladmineerders van Europa). Mine indistinguishable from P. exilis or P. hyoscyami (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The eggs and larvae are described by d'Aguilar and Missonier (1957 and 1962). The mandibles have a number of teeth, of varying size; the angle between the termainal and the penultimate teeth is almost straight, not sharp as in P. hyoscyami (d'Aguilar and Missonier, 1957a, 1962a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Puparia: Reddish brown, in the soil.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Life.

Comments: A notorious pest of beet. Pegomya exilis and Pegomya cunicularia were distinguished from Pegomya betae and Pegomya hyoscyami by Michelsen (1980). Material of both [the former species] had previously been assigned to those [two latter] species (Chandler, pers. comm.).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - mines: June.

Time of year - adults: Two-three generations per year.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Warwickshire (Coventry, Holbrooks) (Robbins, 1991: 36); Anglesey, Caernarvonshire, East Kent, South Devon, West Perth and Wigtownshire (NBN Gateway - N.B. includes Watsonian Vice Counties having publicly available records that fall within or overlap the vice county border at 10km resolution or better i.e. a record for a vice county may relate to an adjacent vice county - for included datasets see NBN Grid map below).

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

NBN Grid map: Note that not all datasets on the NBN Gateway may be available on the map below. If you are an NBN Gateway registered user you can request access for missing datasets via the link 'Open interactive map in new window' below.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, ? Poland, Russia - North, Slovakia and Sweden (Michelsen, in Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in East Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions (Michelsen, in Fauna Europaea).

NBN interactive distribution map(s) of known host species in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere:

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: