Leaf-mine: Larva forms a conspicuous white linear mine with frass in closely adjoining grains. Pupation external (Spencer, 1972:70 (figs 229-230A), 75; Spencer, 1976: 481, 483 (figs. 846, 848A)).

Rather long, somewaht untidy, upper-surface corridor. Frass in many small grains that are close together of form pearl chains. Pupation outside the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The frass, in the long upper-surface white corridor, look like strings of pearls. P.ranunculivora makes similar long linear mines but in this species the frass grains are separate (British leafminers).

The mine is also illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Life.

Larva: The larva is described by de Meijere (1926), Sasakawa (1961), Dempewolf (2001: 195) and illustrated im Bladmineerders van Europa.

Puparium: Greyish or brown; posterior spiracles each with about 18-20 bulbs (Spencer, 1976: 481). The puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa and the Encyclopedia of Life.

Phytomyza ranunculi puparium Image: Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

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

Comments: Ranunculus ficaria is treated as Ficaria verna (Lesser Celandine) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Britain:

Hosts elsewhere:

Time of year - mines: February, May-November.

Time of year - adults: August.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Common and widespread throughout England and Scotland, generally distributed (Spencer, 1972: 75) including Inner Hebrides (Isle of Coll) (Bland, 1992), Warwickshire (Brandon and Foleshill) (Robbins, 1991: 27), Channel Is. (Martinez in Fauna Europaea); Berkshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Derbyshire, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Huntingdonshire, Isle Of Wight, Leicestershire, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, North Hampshire, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, North-east Yorkshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Essex, South Somerset, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, West Sussex 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 Ireland (Spencer, 1972: 75).

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 throughout Europe including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 481), Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1991; Scheirs, de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1999), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 578; Dempewolf, 2001: 195), Austria, Azores, Belarus, Canary Is., Czech Republic, Estonia, European Turkey, Faroe Is., French mainland, Hungary, Iceland, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Madeira, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Romania, Sardinia, Slovakia, Spanish mainland and Switzerland (Martinez in Fauna Europaea).

Range extending to the Kirghiz Republic of the [former] U.S.S.R. (Spencer, 1976: 481).

Also recorded in Canada (Spencer, 1976: 480), Chile (Mines in BMNH) and Japan (Spencer, 1990: 41).

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

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: