HOME : Introduction : Methods : Miners : Parasitoids Host plants by Scientific name : Common name References : Web resources : Acknowledgements : Recent changes : Index : Search

SILENE. Campions and Catchflys. [Caryophyllaceae]
Forty-four species of Silene are recorded in Britain. These include the native Moss Campion (S. acaulis), Sand Catchfly (S. conica), Red Campion (S. dioica), Small-flowered Catchfly (S. gallica), White Campion (S. latifolia), Night-flowering Catchfly (S. noctiflora), Nottingham Catchfly (S. nutans), Spanish Catchfly (S. otites), Sea Campion (S. uniflora) and Bladder Campion (S. vulgaris). Moss Campion (S. acaulis) is protected in Northern Ireland under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order, 1985. Nine dipterous miners, the agromyzids Amauromyza flavifrons, Ophiomyia melandricaulis and the anthomyiids Delia cardui, Delia echinata, Delia kullensis, Delia pruinosa, Pegomya flavifrons and Pegomya hyoscyami, the drosophilid Scaptomyza graminum are recorded on Silene in Britain.	Red Campion - Silene dioica
The tephritid Philophylla caesio is tentatively recorded on Silene in Britain. It is recorded as a petiole miner on Urtica elsewhere. The agromyzid Ophiomyia melandryi feeds in the stems of Silene in Britain and elsewhere. Elsewhere the agromyzids Liriomyza strigata, Amauromyza flavifrons and Ophiomyia melandricaulis and the anthomyiids Delia cardui, Delia echinata, Pegomya flavifrons and Pegomya hyoscyami and the drosophilid Scaptomyza graminum are recorded mining Silene. Four non-dipterous miners are recorded on Silene in Britain (see below). Elsewhere one non-dipterous British miner is recorded on Silene (see below).

Key for the identification of the known Diptera mines in Britain.

#>Details of mine unknown. Delia kullensis (Ringdahl) [Anthomyiidae]. #>Details of mine unknown. Delia pruinosa (Zetterstedt) [Anthomyiidae]. 1> Leaf-mine or stem-mine. 2. ->Leaf and stem-mine. Mine always arising from the leaf base or ending in it, because the larva mines and changes leaves. Mine often broad, irregular corridor like, often touching the midrib. At first corridor often entirely without frass, later in the spring the mines are often less deep, containing thick, irregularly deposited frass lumps. Delia cardui (Meigen) [Anthomyiidae]. ->Leaf and stem mine. Apart from mining leaves the stems are excavated. Oviposition takes place on the tips of shoots. The larva at first mines strip-like full depth corridors in the apical leaves, going then into the stem, which it hollows out, so that it becomes translucent. It then searches out leaves further down in which initially it mines depositing frass in strips, but then in blotches. The corridors often lie in one half of the leaf and can be branched. In the blotches the frass is irregularly scattered. Pupation is in the hollow stem or in the ground. Delia echinata (Séguy) [Anthomyiidae]. 2> A shallow external stem-mine. Pupation in the mine. Puparium pale brown Ophiomyia melandricaulis Hering [Agromyzidae]. ->Leaf mine. 3. 3> A white linear-blotch mine, the linear section sometimes not detectable as it becomes enveloped in later blotch. Puparium reddish brown Mines of Amauromyza flavifrons on Silene dioica. Image: Willem Ellis (Source: Nederlandse bladmineerders) Amauromyza (Trilobomyza) flavifrons (Meigen) [Agromyzidae]. ->Upper side blotch mine beginning with a deeper, almost full depth corridor. Frass grains not in thread-like pieces, irregularly scattered. In the large, later blotch indistinct primary and secondary frass lines are found; the frass accumulated in the middle. Mine of Pegomya flavifrons on Silene dioica. Image: Willem Ellis (Source: Nederlandse bladmineerders) Pegomya flavifrons (Walker) [Anthomyiidae]. ->Large blotch mine, often with several larvae, beginning with a short deeper corridor at a single egg shell on the surface of the leaf. The broad deep corridor later ends in a blotch but can be recognised (beneath the blotch) by its greater depth. Mine predominantly dorsal or ventral, greenish in transmitted light. Frass grains irregularly scattered except in the initial corridor. Mine of Pegomya hyoscyami on Atropa belladonna. Image: Willem Ellis (Source: Nederlandse bladmineerders) Pegomya hyoscyami (Panzer) [Anthomyiidae]. ->Corridor-blotch mine. Mine begins as a normally upper surface deep corridor and becomes a blotch lying centrally in the leaf, often touching the leaf petiole, if leaves are small larva may mine across the stem to another leaf. Pupation internal or external, sometimes in a separate pupation mine. Frass partly in grains or streaks but mainly in clumps towards margins of blotch. Scaptomyza graminum (Fallén) [Drosophilidae].

Non-dipterous miners recorded on Silene in Britain Coleophora galbulipennella Zeller, 1838 Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae   Coleophora lithargyrinella Zeller, 1849 Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae Coleophora solitariella Zeller, 1849 Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae   Cnephasia conspersana Douglas, 1846 Lepidoptera: Tortricidae       Non-dipterous British miners recorded on Silene elsewhere Orthochaetes insignis (Aube, 1863) Coleoptera: Curculionidae

Last updated 20-Oct-2008  Brian Pitkin

.