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

  

Elachista freyerella (Hübner, 1825)
[Lepidoptera: Elachistidae]

Broken-barred Dwarf

Antispila freyerella Hübner, 1825. Verh. bekannt. Schmett.: 419.
Cosmiotes freyerella (Hübner, 1825)
Elachista freyerella (Hübner, 1825).

Leaf-miner: Long, flat, whitish, relatively broad corridor descending from the leaf tip. Frass irregularly scattered. The larva may make several mines during its lifetime. Pupation outside the mine (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).

Yellowish grey, head and protharacic shield black; prothoracic shield divided (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.

Comments: Festuca arundinacea is treated as Schedonorus arundinacea (Tall Fescue) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Dactylis glomerata Cock's-foot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Dactylis glomerata Cock's-foot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Holcus       British leafminers
Poa       British leafminers
Poa       UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        

Agrostis

      Bladmineerders van Europa
Bromus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Dactylis       Bladmineerders van Europa
Festuca arundinacea Tall Fescue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Festuca rubra Red Fescue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Holcus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Koeleria cristata Crested Hair-grass   Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa annua Annual Meadow-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa badensis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa compressa Flattened Meadow-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa nemoralis Wood Meadow-grass   Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa pratensis Smooth Meadow-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa trivialis Rough Meadow-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Trisetum fuscum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Triticum       Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: The larval mines can be found from March to April (British leafminers) and in July (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: There are two generations, with moths on the wing from late April to June and again from late July to September (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: The species is widespread and reasonably common throughout much of the British Isles except the very far north (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Dorset, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Hampshire, North Somerset, North-west Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, South Northumberland, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas).

Favours damp meadows and woodland rides (British leafminers).

Also recorded in Northern Ireland (Fauna Europaea)

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Dactylis glomerata, Festuca arundinacea (= Schedonorus arundinacea), Festuca rubra, Koeleria cristata, Poa annua, Poa compressa, Poa nemoralis, Poa pratensis, Poa trivialis

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, as Cosmiotes freyerella
UKMoths

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 Last updated 17-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page