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 luticomella Zeller, 1839
[Lepidoptera: Elachistidae]

Yellow-headed Dwarf

Elachista luticomella Zeller, 1839. Isis: 212.

Leaf-miner: Long, narrow, white corridor, descending from close to the leaf tip to the leaf base or even stem. Frass in an inconspicuous grey line. From the stem the larva may enter a new leaf (Steuer, 1987a; Bland, 1996a) (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).

Lemon yellow; setae unusually long. Pronotum with two elongate brown spots. also the anal plate has a brown marking. Prolegds with 2-4(5) crochets in a faint, posteriorly concave, arc (Steuer, 1987a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

Described by Patocka (1999a) and Patocka and Turcani (2005a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Comments: Festuca gigantea is treated as Schedonorus gigantea (Giant Fescue) and Festuca pratensis is treated as Schedonorus pratensis (Meadow Fescue) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Brachypodium sylvaticum False Brome British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Dactylis glomerata Cock's-foot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Dactylis glomerata Cock's-foot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Bromopsis ramosa Hairy-brome British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al.

Bladmineerders van Europa, as Bromus ramosa
Dactylis glomerata Cock's-foot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Deschampsia cespitosa Tufted Hair-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Festuca gigantea Giant Fescue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Festuca pratensis Meadow Fescue   Bladmineerders van Europa
Lolium perenne Perennial Rye-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Melica uniflora Wood Melick British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Milium effusum Wood Millet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa humilis Spreading Meadow-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Poa pratensis Smooth Meadow-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Throughout the winter (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: The adults fly in the evening from June to August and can be disturbed from long grass (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Fairly common in grassy habitats and woodland edges throughout the British Isles (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, North Aberdeenshire, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North-east Yorkshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Northumberland, Stafford, Stirlingshire, West Cornwall, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Westmorland (NBN Atlas) and Ireland (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Brachypodium sylvaticum, Bromopsis ramosus, Dactylis glomerata, Deschampsia cespitosa, Festuca gigantea (= Schedonorus gigantea), Festuca pratensis (= Schedonorus pratensis), Lolium perenne, Melica uniflora, Milium effusum, Poa humilis, Poa pratensis

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Chelonus pusio Marshall, 1885 Braconidae: Cheloninae
Pholetesor circumscriptus (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Meloboris gracilis Holmgren, 1859 Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Charitopes areolaris (Thomson, 1884) 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 18-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page