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

 

ECHINOPS. Globe Thistles [Asteraceae]


Five species of Echinops are recorded in Britain. All species are introduced and include Blue Globe-thistle (E. bannaticus) and Glandular Globe-thistle (E. sphaerocephalus).

Two or three British miners are recorded on Echinops.

A key to the European miners recorded on Echinops is provided in Bladmineerders van Europa.



Key for the identification of the known mines of British
insects (Diptera and non-Diptera) recorded on Echinops


1a > Leaf-miner: Mine linear, whitish, both upper and lower surface. Pupation internal, at the end of the mine with the anterior spiracles projecting through the epidermis (Spencer, 1976: 433).

Upper-surface, less often lower-surface corridor. Frass in isolated grains. Pupation within the mine, usually in a lower-surface puparial chamber.

A long whitish upper surface corridor, which eventually goes lower surface.

Two highly polyphagous species of Chromatomyia, with indistinguishable mines, have been recorded in Britain. These are syngenesiae (Hardy) and horticola (Goureau) which can only be distinguished by the male genitalia. Both species are widespread in Britain and elsewhere, although syngenesiae is almost entirely restricted to Asteraceae. Records on Asteraceae not based on examination of male genitalia are treated in this account as Chromatomyia 'atricornis'.

Chromatomyia 'atricornis' has been recorded on Echinops in Britain.

Chromatomyia horticola (Goureau, 1851) [Diptera: Agromyzidae]
OR
Chromatomyia syngenesiae Hardy, 1849 [Diptera: Agromyzidae].

1b > Leaf-miner: A narrow, whitish linear mine with frass in a conspicuous, almost unbroken line at alternate sides of the channel (Spencer, 1972b: 72 (fig. 238); Spencer, 1976: 381 (fig. 682), 392).

Long narrow corridor, upper-surface for most of its length, but with lower-surface segments. Over large distances the corridor follows a heavy vein. Frass in strikingly long threads, alternating along the sides of the mine. Sometimes the frass thread is quite coarse and thick, at other times it is hair thin. Pupation outside the mine, exit slit in the upper epidermis. Occasionally pupation takes place within the mine, but then the exit slit has already been cut (moreover, the anterior spiracles do not penetrate the epidermis).

The mine is illustrated in British leafminers.

On Echinops in Britain and elsewhere. Uncommon in Britain - London, Surrey and Berks. Widespread in continental Europe, particularly in gardens.

Phytomyza bipunctata Loew, 1858 [Diptera: Agromyzidae].



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