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

 

Eriocrania salopiella (Stainton, 1854)
[Lepidoptera: Eriocraniidae]

Small Birch Purple


Micropteryx salopiella Stainton, 1854. Ins. Brit. 3: 44, t. 9 fig. 4.
Eriocrania salopiella
(Stainton, 1854).


Leaf-miner: The early gallery starts in the centre of the leaf. It is a linear track which widens to a large blotch at the leaf edge, with frass in long threads (British leafminers).

Corridor, generally beginning in the neighbourhood of the midrib, rather gradually widening into a very large blotch. Frass in long threads. Pupation in the ground (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).

The larva is illustrated in 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.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Betulaceae        
Betula       British leafminers
Betula       Pitkin & Plant
Betula       UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Betulaceae        
Betula pendula Silver Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Betula pendula Silver Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Betula pubescens Downy Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Betula pubescens Downy Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

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

Time of year - adults: May and June (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Well distributed across mainland Britain, but fairly localised, this species is probably overlooked (UKMoths) including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Ross, East Suffolk, Haddington, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Merionethshire, North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Northumberland, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Suffolk and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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 Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Latvia, Norwegian mainland, Russia - North, Sweden and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Betula pendula, Betula pubescens

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Lathrolestes clypeatus (Zetterstedt, 1838) Ichneumonidae: Euryproctinae


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 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page