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

  

Coleophora binderella (Kollar, 1832)
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Grey Alder Case-bearer

Ornix binderella Kollar, 1832. Beitrg. Landes. Kunde. Oesterr. 2: 99.
Coleophora binderella (Kollar, 1832).

Leaf-miner and case-bearer: Larva mines leaves. The case is enlarged several times by mining a leaf-edge and inserting the existing case into the mine which is joined with silk. The final case is 7-8 mm long (British leafminers).

Larva in a composite leaf case, composed of large leaf fragments. Characteristically, the leaf fragments are attached in a failry untidy way. In spring the case has two colours, because the old material (dull yellowish, grey or pink) dates from before the hibernation, while new, reddish brown material dates from after the winter. The case finally is about 7-8 mm long; the mouth angle is 40-45°. (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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 by Rob Edmunds. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Betulaceae        
Alnus       British leafminers
Alnus       Pitkin & Plant
Alnus cordata Italian Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Betula       British leafminers
Betula       Pitkin & Plant
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Corylus       British leafminers

Corylus

avellana Hazel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Fagaceae        
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers

Hosts elsewhere:

Betulaceae        
Alnus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Alnus glutinosa Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Alnus glutinosa Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Alnus incana Grey Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Alnus viridis Green Alder   Bladmineerders van Europa
Betula       Belgian Lepidoptera
Betula pubescens Downy Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Betula pendula Silver Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carpinus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Corylus avellana Hazel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Corylus avellana Hazel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September to October, feeding again in April and May (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: June or July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in woodland where the foodplants are found (UKMoths) including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Montgomeryshire, North Somerset, Northamptonshire, South Hampshire, Surrey, West Gloucestershire and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Alnus cordata, Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana, Alnus viridis, Betula pendula, Carpinus betulus, Castanea sativa, Corylus avellana

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Ascogaster varipes Wesmael, 1835 Braconidae: Cheloninae
Gelis areator (Panzer, 1804) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Scambus inanis (Schrank, 1802) Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae
Neliopisthus elegans (Ruthe, 1855) Ichneumonidae: Tryphoniinae

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

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 Last updated 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page