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

  

Incurvaria oehlmanniella (Hübner, 1796)
[Lepidoptera: Incurvariidae]

Common Bright

Tinea oehlmanniella Hübner, 1796
Lampronia oehlmanniella (Hübner, 1796).
Incurvaria oehlmanniella (Hübner, 1796).

Leaf-miner: Oviposition by way of an ovipositor, no egg visible therefore. The larva makes an irregular blotch. The part of the mine nearest to the oviposition site is more thranslucent than the later, in transparancy more greenish, part of the mine. The mine usually lies close to the leaf tip, often several together. After its first moult the larva makes a roundish excision, 3-4 mm in diameter. Sandwiched herein it drops to the ground and continues feeding of dead leaves. The excision occupies about half of the surface of the blotch (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also described in UKMoths.

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).

Incurvaria-larvae, while resting, take a horse-shoe like posture, unlike the larvae of Antispila species (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 by Andy Mackay. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk. The ovipositor comb of oehlmanniella is illustrated in British leafminers alongside pectinea and masculella.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Ericaceae        
Vaccinium myrtillus Bilberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Vaccinium myrtillus Bilberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Rosaceae        
Prunus       Pitkin & Plant
Rubus chamaemorus Cloudberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Aceraceae        
Acer platanoides Norway Maple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Betulaceae        
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Cornaceae        
Cornus sanguinea Dogwood British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Swida       Belgian Lepidoptera
Ericaceae        
Vaccinium myrtillus Bilberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Vaccinium myrtillus Bilberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Fagaceae        
Fagus sylvatica Beech British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosaceae        
Malus sylvestris Crab Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus chamaemorus Cloudberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Rubus chamaemorus Cloudberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Mining larvae are found in July - August (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: The adults fly in June and July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in much of the Britain including Anglesey, Banffshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Suffolk, Easterness, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Huntingdonshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, North-east Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Somerset, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad Region, Latvia, ? Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, East, North, Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Acer platanoides, Carpinus betulus, Cornus sanguinea, Fagus sylvatica, Malus sylvestris, Prunus spinosa, Rubus chamaemorus, Vaccinium myrtillus

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
UKMoths 		Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google

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 Last updated 18-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page