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

 

Phytomyza eupatorii Hendel, 1927
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]


Phytomyza eupatorii Hendel, 1927a. Zool. Anz. 69: 258
Phytomyza eupatorii Hendel, 1927a; Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 74 (figs 242-3), 79, 113
Phytomyza eupatorii Hendel, 1927a; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the World Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 289, 290 (figs 1112).


Leaf-miner: Mine long, linear, upper or lower surface, often adjoining a vein (Spencer, 1972b: 74 (fig. 244), 79).

Long corridor, often following the midrib for some distance. The mine is upper- or lower-surface; often the first part lower-surface, then upper-surface. Frass in pearl chains or isolated granules. Pupation outside the mine; exit slit in the lower epidermis (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 white 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).

The black puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Phytomyza eupatorii puparium
Phytomyza eupatorii puparium
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Asteraceae        
Eupatorium       Robbins, 1991: 113
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 113

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Eupatorium       Spencer, 1990: 289
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Eupatorium corsicum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Eupatorium japonicum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Eupatorium sacchalinense     Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: July-August.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain - Surrey (Cosford Mill, Godalming) Cambridgeshire (Chippenham Fen), Norfolk (Norwich), Denbighshire (Cefn-y-bedd) (Spencer, 1972b: 79) and Warwickshire (Fazeley and Hawkesbury) (Robbins, 1991: 113); Breconshire, Cambridgeshire, Glamorgan and Shropshire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1991), Czech Republic, French mainland, Germany, Lithuania and Poland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Eupatorium cannabinum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis viridis (Nees, 1934) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Chorebus armida (Nixon, 1945) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Exotela spinifer (Nixon, 1954) 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
Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google


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