AMMOPHILA. Marrams. [Poaceae]


Two species of Ammophila are recorded in Britain - Marram (A. arenaria) and American Marram (A. breviligulata). Both are coastal species. The latter is introduced and known only from Anglesey.

Only one Diptera miner, the agromyzid Cerodontha superciliosa, is recorded on Ammophila in Britain. Miners on grasses should be reared, whenever possible, to confirm their identity.

Elsewhere the grass-feeding agromyzids Cerodontha incisa, Cerodontha pygmaea, Cerodontha superciliosa and Chromatomyia nigra are recorded mining Ammophila.

No non-Diptera miners are recorded on Ammophila in Britain.

A key to the European miners, based on characteristics of the mines, immature stages and where relevant the larval cases, recorded on Ammophila is provided in Bladmineerders van Europa. This includes Apatetris kinkerella, Chromatomyia nigra, Cerodontha incisa, Cerodontha superciliosa and Cerodontha pygmaea.




Key for the identification of the mines of British Diptera recorded on
Ammophila




Note: Diptera larvae may live in a corridor mine, a corridor-blotch mine, or a blotch mine, but never in a case, a rolled or folded leaf, a tentiform mine or sandwiched between two more or less circular leaf sections in later instars. Pupation never in a cocoon. All mining Diptera larvae 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 larvae lie on their sides within the mine and use their pick-like mouthparts to feed on plant tissue. In some corridor miners frass may lie in two rows on alternate sides of the mine. In order to vacate the mine the fully grown larva cuts an exit slit, which is usually semi-circular (see Liriomyza huidobrensis video). The pupa is formed within the hardened last larval skin or puparium and as a result head appendages, wings and legs are not visible externally

1 > Leaf-miner: Upper-surface corridor, generally in the upper half of the blade, running up to the leaf tip, usually occupying more then half the width of the leaf. Frass in green stripes at either side of the corridor. Never more than one larva in a mine. Puparium within the mine, metallic black, not anchered with a string of silk

On Ammophila and Elymus in Britain and additional grasses elsewhere. Known only from Norfolk and Elgin in Britain. Widespread in continental Europe. Also recorded in Canada and the U.S.A.

Cerodontha (Poemyza) superciliosa (Zetterstedt, 1860) [Diptera: Agromyzidae].



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Last updated 15-Jan-2012  Brian Pitkin Top of page