Leaf-mine: Larva forming short, irregular white linear mine, with frass in conspicuous black strips. Pupation external, normally adhering to the leaf near the end of the mine until dislodged by rain or wind (Spencer, 1972: 83 (fig. 269B; Spencer, 1976: 381 (figs 663B), 450).

A pale green, upper-surface, fairly broad, waving corridor; relatively short, up to 7 cm. Frass at first in grains, later in short thread fragments or pearl strings, at either side of the corridor. Often several mines in a leaf. Pupation outside the mine, exit slit in lower epidermis (Bladmineerders van Europa).

A relatively broad, short upper surface gallery. Frass in conspicuous black stripes (British leafminers).

The mine is also illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Life.

Larva: The larva is described by de Meijere (1925), Allen (1958) and Sasakawa (1961).

Puparium: Reddish-brown (orange) (Spencer, 1976: 450).

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

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - mines: June-September.

Time of year - adults: Unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Common and widespread throughout the Britain, particularly in gardens (Spencer, 1972) including Warwickshire (Coventry) (Robbins, 1991), Hampshire (Fleet) (British leafminers); Cambridgeshire, Edinburgh, Linlithgow, Shropshire, Stafford and Worcestershire (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 (Martinez 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 much of Europe including Denmark, Norway, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 450), Switzerland (Mines in BMNH); The Netherlands, Luxembourg (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1991) and Germany (Spencer, 1976: 574), French mainland, Lithuania, Poland and Spanish mainland (Martinez in Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in the western U.S.A., the Himalayas and northern India (Spencer, 1990: 28).

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

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: