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 pectinea Haworth, 1828
[Lepidoptera: Incurvariidae]

Pale Feathered Bright


Incurvaria pectinea Haworth, 1828. Lep. Brit.: 559.
Tinea zinckenii Zeller, 1839.


Leaf-miner: The larva starts making a corridor of a few mm, followed, and mostly overrun, by a circular blotch of 4-5 mm diameter (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Generally several larvae feed in a single leaf, creating a distinctive pattern of feeding windows. The larvae then cut out circular cases and drop to the leaf-litter to continue feeding, leaving behind a leaf containing many circular or oval cut-outs (UKMoths).

The mine is also illustrated in 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).

The larva is illustrated in British leafminers and 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. The ovipositor comb of pectinea is illustrated in British leafminers alongside oehmanniella and masculella.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Betulaceae        
Alnus glutinosa Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Alnus glutinosa Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Heath and Pelham-Clinton, 1983a
Betula       British leafminers
Betula       Pitkin & Plant
Betula       UKMoths
Betula pendula Silver Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Heath and Pelham-Clinton, 1983a
Betula pubescens Downy Birch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Heath and Pelham-Clinton, 1983a
Carpinus       British leafminers
Corylus       UKMoths
Corylus avellana Hazel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Heath and Pelham-Clinton, 1983a
Corylus avellana Hazel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Rosaceae        
Malus       British leafminers
Malus       UKMoths
Malus sylvestris Crab Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Tiliaceae        
Tilia cordata Small-leaved Lime British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers (Newletter 4)
Tilia cordata Small-leaved Lime British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Aceraceae        
Acer monspessulanum Montpellier Maple   Bladmineerders van Europa
Betulaceae        
Alnus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Alnus glutinosa Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Alnus incana Grey Alder British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Betula       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. Bladmineerders van Europa
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Corylus avellana Hazel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Corylus avellana Hazel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Ostrya carpinifolia     Bladmineerders van Europa
Cornaceae        
Cornus sanguinea Dogwood British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Swida       Belgian Lepidoptera
Fabaceae        
Robinia pseudoacacia False-acacia British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosaceae        
Malus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Malus sylvestris Crab Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Pyrus communis Pear Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Sorbus       Bladmineerders van Europa

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

Time of year - adults: Flying in April and May (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widely distributed throughout much of the British Isles (UKMoths) including Banffshire, Berwickshire, Caernarvonshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, East Sutherland, Easterness, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Linlithgow, North Aberdeenshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Perthshire, West Ross, West Suffolk, West Sutherland, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Acer monspessulanum, Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana, Betula pendula, Betula pubescens, Carpinus betulus, Cornus sanguinea, Corylus avellana, Malus sylvestris, Ostrya carpinifolia, Pyrus communis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Tilia cordata

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Megacara hortulana (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Orthizema subannulatum (Bridgman, 1883) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Theroscopus esenbeckii (Gravenhorst, 1815) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae


External links: Search the internet:
Belgian Lepidoptera
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers (Newletter 4)
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