Coleophora wockeella [Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae] 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

Coleophora wockeella Zeller, 1849
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Betony Case-bearer

Coleophora wockeella Zeller, 1849. Linn. Ent. 4: 215
Coleophora italiae Toll, 1960. Polski Pismo ent. 30: 105, fig'd.

Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva constructs a distinctive dark brown case from fragments of leaf (UKMoths). The case is illustrated in British leafminers.

Dark brown, bivalved, composite leaf case, about 10 mm long, and composed of 6-8 ringlets (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).

Described by Suire (1961a) (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 not illustrated in UKMoths (check for update). The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Comments: Stachys officinalis is treated as Betonica officinalis (Betony) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Lamiaceae
Stachys	officinalis	Betony	British leafminers
Stachys	officinalis	Betony	Pitkin & Plant
Stachys	officinalis	Betony	UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Lamiaceae
Stachys	officinalis	Betony	Belgian Lepidoptera
Stachys	officinalis	Betony	Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September - May (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: The adults fly in June and July, but are not often seen (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Now a very local species in Britain, it was formerly more widespread but generally is restricted to a few localities in southern England (UKMoths) including Dorset, Isle of Wight, North Essex, Surrey and West Sussex (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia - South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland and Switzerland, Also recorded in Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Stachys officinalis

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	Find using Google Find using Google Scholar Find images using Google


	Last updated 19-May-2019 Brian Pitkin