Eriocrania sangii [Lepidoptera: Eriocraniidae] 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

Eriocrania sangii (Wood, 1891)
[Lepidoptera: Eriocraniidae]

Large Birch Purple

Micropteryx sangii Wood, 1891. Ent. mon. Mag. 27: 100
Eriocrania sangii (Wood, 1891).

Leaf-miner: A blotch with large dark grey larva - discarded grey larval skin visible in vacated mine. The mine starts by the edge of the leaf (British leafminers).

Large, white, primary, full depth blotch, following upon a very short corridor. The blotch begins adjacent to the leaf margin, expanding deeper into the leaf. Frass in striking, long threads. Pupation in the soil. Vacated mines shrivel and wither away; later in summer no a trace remains (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).

Dark grey and quite distinctive if the mined leaf is held up to the light (UKMoths).

The larva is also 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	Downy Birch	UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Betulaceae
Betula			Belgian Lepidoptera
Betula			Bladmineerders van Europa
Betula	pubescens	Downy Birch	Belgian Lepidoptera

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

Time of year - adults: The adults fly in March and April (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Although stated in the literature as local in Britain (MBGBI), renewed interest in this group in recent years has shown the species to be well distributed and quite common, especially in northern England (UKMoths) including Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Dnebighshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Main Argyll, Mid-west Yorkshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Hampshire, South Wiltshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Host species unknown

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea
Cirrospilus diallus Walker, 1838	Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available
Lathrolestes clypeatus (Zetterstedt, 1838)	Ichneumonidae: Euryproctinae
Grypocentrus basalis Ruthe, 1855	Ichneumonidae: Tryphoniinae


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 11-Jul-2019 Brian Pitkin