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 striatipennella (Nylander, 1848)
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Hedge Case-bearer

Coleophora striatipennella (Nylander, 1848)

Seed-feeder and case-bearer: Feeds in the seedpods and makes a greyish/yellow case from the seedpod (British leafminers).

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 arvense Field Mouse-ear British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Cerastium fontanum Common Mouse-ear British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Stellaria graminea Lesser Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Stellaria media Common Chickweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae        
Cerastium fontanum Common Mouse-ear British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Stellaria graminea Lesser Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Stellaria media Common Chickweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera

Time of year - larvae: August - April (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Breconshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardinganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Fife, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kincardineshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Linlithgow, Middlesex, Mongomershire, North Aberdeenshire, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North-east Yorkshire, Outer Hebrides, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Lancashire, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas) and Chorlton, Manchester (British leafminers).

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, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, North and South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands. Also recorded in the East Palaearctic and Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Cerastium arvense, Cerastium fontanum, Stellaria graminea, Stellaria media

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.

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 26-Jun-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page