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 solitariella Zeller, 1849
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Ochreous Case-bearer

Coleophora solitariella Zeller, 1849. Linn. Ent. 4: 397.

Leaf-miner and case-bearer: Larva mines leaves, forming a case from an excised mine. This case is later extended, and widened by slitting the ventral side to insert a gusset. The full-grown case is 8 mm long with a single ventral keel (British leafminers).

Full grown larva in a slender greyish white three-valved tubular silken case of c. 8 mm; mouth angle about 45°. Often several cases together on a small number of plants (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The case and feeding holes are illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Life.

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).

Described by Emmet, et al. (1996a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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       Pitkin & Plant
Myosoton       Pitkin & Plant
Silene uniflora Sea Campion British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers, as Silene maritima
Stellaria alsine Bog Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Caryophyllaceae        
Arenaria serpyllifolia Slender Sandwort   Bladmineerders van Europa
Cerastium arvense Field Mouse-ear British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Cerastium glomeratum Sticky Mouse-ear British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Myosoton aquaticum Water Chickweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Stellaria alsine Bog Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Stellaria media Common Chickweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Stellaria nemorum Wood Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Stellaria uliginosa Bog Stitchwort   Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September to November, feeding again from March to May (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Bedfordshire, Dorset, East Corrwall, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Shropshire and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Russia - South, Slovakia, Sweden, ? Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Arenaria serpyllifolia, Cerastium arvense, Cerastium glomeratum, Myosoton aquaticum, Silene uniflora, Stellaria alsine, Stellaria holostea, Stellaria media, Stellaria nemorum, Stellaria uliginosa

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Copidosoma peticus (Walker, 1846) Encyrtidae: Encyrtinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Campoletis annulata (Gravenhorst 1829) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Campoplex tumidulus Gravenhorst, 1829 Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Campoletis femoralis (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Diadegma tenuipes (Thomson, 1887) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Porizon moderator (Linnaeus, 1758) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Agrothereutes abbreviatus (Fabricius 1794) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Pleolophus vestigialis (Förster, 1850) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Gelis agilis (Fabricius, 1775) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae

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