Leaf-miner: Generally the mine is the full width of the leaf (as shown) and extends from the leaf tip. It is white and the frass is scattered (British
leafminers).
In
spring a short corridor is made that is almost stuffed with frass.
After hibernation this mine is vacated, and the larva then makes
a number of elongated blotches, all descending from the leaf tip.
These latter mines are whitish, with irregularly scattered frass
(Bladmineerders van Europa).
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Mine of Elachista humilis on Brachypodium sylvaticum
Image: © Tony Davis (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).
Lemon yellow, dull yellowish to greenish yellow with a lighter mid-dorsal
line; head light brown. According to Hering (1957a) the prothoracic
plate has a darker centre (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:
Deschampsia cespitosa is the main host plant; the other host
plants on the list are not all equally trustworthy because of possible
confusion with Elachista canapennella (Traugott-Olsen and
Nielsen, 1977a) (Bladmineerders van Europa)
Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts
elsewhere:
Time
of year - larvae: March-May (British
leafminers).
Time
of year - adults: Currently unknown.
Distribution
in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Anglesey, Banffshire, Buckinghamshire,
Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Norfolk,
East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire,
Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Hampshire, North-east Yorkshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Hampshire, Stafford, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN
Atlas)
and the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea). See also British
leafminers distribution map.
Also
recorded in the Republic of Ireland and Northern 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, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian
mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central and North, Slovakia,
Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).
NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
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