Caryocolum marmoreum [Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae] in Leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects

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

Caryocolum marmorea (Haworth, 1828)
[Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae]

Beautiful Groundling

Recurvaria marmoreum Haworth, 1828. Lep. Brit. 4: 553.
Caryocolum marmoreum (Haworth, 1828).

Leaf-miner ?: In Belgium the larva lives in a silken tube in the sand and feeds on the leaves of Cerastium fontanum touching the ground. Pupation in a cocoon in the sand ( Belgian Lepidoptera).

Larva: The larvae of moths have a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding), six thoracic legs and abdominal legs (see examples).

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Caryophyllaceae
Cerastium	semidecandrum	Little Mouse-ear		Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Caryophyllaceae
Cerastium	fontanum	Common Mouse-ear	Belgian Lepidoptera
Cerastium	fontanum	Common Mouse-ear	Bladmineerders van Europa
Cerastium	fontanum	Common Mouse-ear	Pitkin & Plant
Silene	nocteollens		Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Currently unknown.

Time of year - adults: In Belgium the adults fly from June till August and come to light (Belgian Lepidoptera).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Anglesey, Berkshire, Caernarvonshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Kincardineshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Essex, Pembrokeshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland and Wigtownshire (NBN Atlas), the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Dodecanese Is., Estonia, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Macedonia, Madeira, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Sardinia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Cerastium semidecandrum, Cerastium fontanum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available
Bracon stabilis (Wesmael, 1838)	Braconidae: Braconinae


External links:	Search the internet:
Belgian Lepidoptera Biodiversity Heritage Library Bladmineerders van Europa British leafminers Encyclopedia of Life Fauna Europaea NBN Atlas NHM UK Checklist UKMoths	Find using Google Find using Google Scholar Find images using Google


	Last updated 13-Jul-2019 Brian Pitkin