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 praelatella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
[Lepidoptera: Incurvariidae]

Strawberry Bright

Tinea praelatella Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775. Wien. Verz.: 320.
Incurvaria praelatella (Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775).

Small (less than 1 cm), full depth blotch, transparent when fresh, starting at the leaf margin, usually near the leaf tip; frass in scattered grains. The larva makes an elliptic double sided excision to form a case. Subsequently, it continues feeding within the case (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:

Rosaceae        
Agrimonia       Pitkin & Plant
Alchemilla       Pitkin & Plant
Filipendula       Pitkin & Plant
Fragaria       Pitkin & Plant
Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Geum       Pitkin & Plant
Geum rivale Water Avens British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Rubus   A bramble   Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Achillea       Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosaceae        
Agrimonia       Bladmineerders van Europa
Alchemilla vulgaris Lady's-mantle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Filipendula       Bladmineerders van Europa
Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Geum rivale Water Avens British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Geum rivale Water Avens British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Potentilla reptans Creeping Cinquefoil British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus fruticosus Bramble / Blackberry   Bladmineerders van Europa
Spiraea douglasii Steeple-bush   Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Mining larvae in June - August or even later (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: The moths fly in sunshine, in May and June (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Berwickshire, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, Dumfriesshire, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, North Aberdeenshire, North Devon, North Ebudes, North Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Outer Hebrides, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Northumberland, South Hampshire, South Wiltshire, Stafford, Stirlingshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

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

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Alchemilla vulgaris, Fragaria vesca, Geum rivale, Potentilla reptans, Rubus fruticosus, Spiraea douglasii

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