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(Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera)
by
Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds
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OSTRYA. [Betulaceae]
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One
species of Ostrya is recorded in Britain.
Eleven British miners are recorded on Ostrya.
A key to the European miners recorded on Ostrya is provided in Bladmineerders van Europa.
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Key for the identification of the known mines of British
insects (Diptera and non-Diptera) recorded on Ostrya
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1a > Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva lives outside the mine, protected by a case, and feeds on the underlying plant tissues via a hole cut in the epidermis. From that point it eats away as much leaf tissue as it can reach without fully entering the mine. Mine does not contain frass (Coleophora species) |
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1b > Leaf-miner, but not a case-bearer: The larva lives mainly inside the mine. Mine usually contains frass. In later instars the larva may live sandwiched between two more or less circular sections cut from the leaf. |
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2 > Leaf-miner
and case-bearer: The larva feeds by inserting its head into small mines it creates
on the leaves of birch, elm, alder, or hazel. Occasionally it is
found feeding on other trees, or on herbaceous plants onto which
it has accidentally Fallén. It forms two cases during its larval
life. The first case is initially curved, smooth, laterally compressed
with a bivalved anal opening, and about 2 mm long in September.
During October it feeds, and adds a few rough collars of larval
material around the oral opening. After hibernation, it feeds again
in April and early May, adding more protruding collars until they
equal or exceed the original smooth part of the case. At the same
time, it expands the case girth by the creation of a silk gusset
ventrally. The second case, 6 or 7 mm long, is formed in May, leaving
the vacated first case attached to its last feeding mine. The new
case is tubular with a trivalved crimp at the anal opening. The
dorsum is formed from the edge of the leaf from which the case was
cut. This results in a more or less serrated dorsal keel, depending
on the plant species and the individual piece of leaf used. Considerable
variation in the degree of serration can be found, even among specimens
off the same tree. The case colour varies with food plant, from
yellowish brown on birch, darkening through elm and hazel to dark
brown on alder.
The
strongly curved young case is is a composite leaf case, the adult
case is a tubular leaf case. The adult case is bivalved, about 7
mm in length; the mouth angle is around 30°. The case is straw
coloured and almost always has a toothed dorsal keel (remnant of
the margin of the leaf from which the case was cut). Neither larvae
or cases of C.
coracipennella, prunifoliae, serratella and spinella can be
separated; from serratella. |
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On Alnus, Betula, Corylus, Ulmus and Sorbus, but not yet on Ostrya, in Britain plus Carpinus, Mespilus,
Ostrya, Hippophae, Ribes, Myrica, Forsythia, Amelanchier, Chaenomeles,
Cotoneaster, Crataegus, Cydonia, Eriobotrya, Malus, Prunus, Sorbus,
Spiraea, Populus and Salix elsewhere. This is probably the commonest species of British
coleophorid, and is found throughout the British Isles. Widespread
in continental Europe.
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Coleophora
serratella (Linnaeus, 1761) [Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]. |
3a > Leaf-miner: The larva starts making a corridor of a few mm, followed, and
mostly overrun, by a circular blotch of 4-5 mm diameter.
Generally
several larvae feed in a single leaf, creating a distinctive pattern
of feeding windows. The larvae then cut out circular cases and drop
to the leaf-litter to continue feeding, leaving behind a leaf containing
many circular or oval cut-outs. |
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On Alnus, Betula, Carpinus, Corylus, Malus and Tilia, but not yet on Ostrya, in Britain. On several
genera and species in several plant families, including Ostrya,
elsewhere. Fairly well-distributed throughout much of the British
Isles, though it tends to be commoner further north. Widespread
in continental Europe.
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Incurvaria
pectinea Haworth 1828 [Lepidoptera: Incurvariidae]. |
3b > Leaf-miner: The
larva feeds on hazel or hornbeam, creating blotches with intertwining
threads of frass, typical of the genus.
Large
white blotch, starting at the leaf margin. Frass in long threads.
Often several larvae in a mine. Pupation outside the mine. |
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On Carpinus and Corylus, but not yet on Ostrya,
in Britain plus Alnus and Ostrya elsewhere. Widespread
in England and recorded in the Republic of Ireland. Widespread
in continental Europe.
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Eriocrania chrysolepidella (Zeller, 1851) [Lepidoptera: Eriocraniidae]. |
3c > Leaf-miner: The
initial mine expands to form a full depth blotch. It resembles Phyllonorycter
tenerella, but has a mottled lower surface. It then forms
two folds.
Small,
angular, full depth blotch, often in a vein axil. Lower, in the
end also upper, epidermis brown. The larva deposits some silk in
the mine, but the quantity is so low that the mine remains practicaly
flat. Later the larva leaves the mine and continues feeding within
a downfolded leaf margin or leaf tip. |
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On Carpinus betulus, but not yet on Ostrya,
in Britain. On Acer platanoides, Acer pseudoplatanus,
Carpinus betulus, Carpinus orientalis and Ostrya
carpinifolia elsewhere. South-east England. Widespread in
continental Europe.
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Parornix
carpinella (Frey, 1863) [Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]. |
3d > Leaf-miner: The
mine is upper side, over veins. Silvery, with brown speckling, later
contracting to cause leaf to fold upwards. There may be several
mines on each leaf.
Upper-surface
silvery tentiform mine. For some time the mine remains quite flat,
and appears as a blotch mine. In the final stage the leaf is strongly
contracted, however. Not infrequently several mines in a leaf. Pupa
in a cocoon in a corner of the mine, frass heaped in the opposite
corner. |
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On Corylus, but not yet on Ostrya, in Britain
and Corylus and Ostrya elsewhere. Widespread in
Britain, Ireland and continental Europe.
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Phyllonorycter
coryli (Nicelli, 1851) [Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]. |
3e > Leaf-miner: The mine is upper side, over veins. Silvery, with brown speckling,
later contracting to cause leaf to fold upwards.
Upper-surface
tentiform mine. The early mine is roundish, silvery, flat, and lies
centered over a side vein. The older mine strongly contracts and
sometimes almost doubles the leaf. |
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On Carpinus betulus, but not yet on Ostrya,
in Britain and Carpinus betulus and Ostrya carpinifolia elsewhere. A local species, mainly found in the south and south-east
of England northwards to the midlands and South York, the most
northerly record to date. Widespread in continental Europe.
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Phyllonorycter
esperella (Goeze, 1783) [Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]. |
3f > Leaf-miner: The mine is oval on Quercus ilex (note - there may be several mines in the leaf), and similar to P. quercifoliella on deciduous oaks. It is between adjacent veins on beech and hornbeam. Small, oval, lower-surface tentiform mine, 9-14 mm long, mostly between two lateral veins. The lower epidermis with a single sharp fold (sometimes forked near its end). Pupa in very flimsy cocoon, that contains a bit of frass laterally and at the rear end. |
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On Betula, Carpinus, Castanea, Fagus, Nothofagus, Quercus,
Malus, Ostrya and Prunus in Britain and Carpinus, Castanea,
Fagus, Quercus, Prunus and Tilia elsewhere. Widespread
in Britain, Ireland and continental Europe.
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Phyllonorycter
messaniella (Zeller, 1846) (Lepidoptera: Gracilariidae)
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3f > Leaf-miner: A mine between veins from midrib to leaf-edge, narrow, tubular,
with one crease in lower epidermis.
Narrow,
finally tubular lower-surface mine between two side veins. The lower
epidermis with one strong fold. Pupa in a flimsy cocoon in a corner
of the mine, usually in the axil of midrib and side vein. Frass
loosely heaped in the opposite corner. |
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On Carpinus, but not yet on Ostrya, in Britain
and Carpinus and Ostrya elsewhere. Southern half
of England. Widespread in continental Europe.
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Phyllonorycter
tenerella (Joannis, 1915) [Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]. |
3g > Leaf-miner: Oviposition at the underside of the leaf, in the axil of a vein.
The mine is a not very slender corridor. The first part is almost
filled with frass; in the later part the frass lies in thick lumps.
The trajectory of the mine is not angular, neither is it determined
by the leaf venation. The discrimination between this mine and the
one of Stigmella
floslactella is difficult. |
Mine
of Stigmella carpinella on Carpinus betulus
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa) |
On Carpinus, but not yet on Ostrya, in Britain
and Carpinus and Ostrya elsewhere. West Kent in
Britain. Widespread in continental Europe.
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Stigmella
carpinella (Heinemann, 1862) [Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]. |
3h > Leaf-miner: The early gallery is filled with frass, later leaving clear
margins.
Like Stigmella microtheriella the larva feeds on hazel or hornbeam, and its mines are often found
alongside that species in the same leaf. However the mines of S.
floslactella are generally wider, less angular and contain more
scattered frass than those of S. microtheriella.
Oviposition
at the underside of the leaf, in a vein axil. Mine a slender, gradually
widening corridor; the last section is clearly wider than the larva.
In the first section the vaguely delimited frass line almost fills
the corridor. Later the frass lies in irregular arcs and clouds,
filling about one third of the width of the corridor. The trajectory
of the mine is not angular, independent of the leaf venation. Pupation
external, exit slit in the upper epidermis. |
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On Betula, Carpinus and Corylus, but not yet on Ostrya, in Britain and Carpinus, Corylus and Ostrya elsewhere. Widespread in Britain and continental
Europe. Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland.
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Stigmella
floslactella (Haworth, 1828) [Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]. |
3i > Leaf-miner: A narrow gallery, tending to follow veins of leaf. The early part
with linear frass.
Oviposition
at the underside of the leaf, mostly close to a vein. The mine is
a long, very slender corridor; even towards the end hardly wider
than necessary to accomodate the growing larva. Frass in a narrow
central line. The shape of the mine differs somewhat between the
hostplants. In Carpinus the mine closely follows a heavy
vein over a long distance; also the mine tends to be somewhat shorter
and broader, and the frass often lies in a more diffuse line. The
mines in Corylus are not so strictly defined by the venation
and the frass line is narrower (Emmet, 1983a; Johansson ao, 1990a).
Sometimes it is difficult to separate the mines from those of S.
floslactella; an additional difference then is that even
in the very first part of the corridor the frass of microtheriella lies in a narrow line, while the frass of floslactella seems
to fill the entire corridor there. The pale golden larva lies venter-upwards
in the mine. Sometimes there can be several larvae mining the
same leaf. |
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On Carpinus betulus, Corylus avellana, Nothofagus and Ostrya carpinifolia in Britain and Carpinus spp.
and Ostrya spp. elsewhere. Widespread in Britain, Ireland
and continental Europe.
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Stigmella
microtheriella (Stainton, 1854) [Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae].
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