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

  

Jordanita globulariae (Hübner, 1793)
[Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae]

Scarce Forester

Sphinx globulariae Hübner, 1793. Europ. Schmett. 2: PAGE.
Adscita globulariae (Hübner, 1793)
Jordanita globulariae (Hübner, 1793).

Leaf-miner: The larva makes a large number of untidy full depth mines. The mines contain hardly or no frass. The opening made by the larva in the underside of the leaf is irregular roundish, sometimes more of a slit, large in proportion to the size of the mine, and usually positioned at the side of the mine. The larva mines until just before the pupation, that takes place externally (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).

Dull flesh-coloured with two yellow white dorsal lines; head black, prothoracic plate with dark marking (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 and the Encyclopedia of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Asteraceae        
Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Centaurea nigra Common Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Centaurea scabiosa Greater Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Centaurea scabiosa Greater Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Centaurea jacea Brown Knapweed   Bladmineerders van Europa
Centaurea scabiosa Greater Knapweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Cirsium pannonicum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Plantaginaceae        
Globularia       Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July till May (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: The day-flying adults are to be found in June and July (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Locally distributed on calcareous soil, inhabiting grassland, this is a nationally scarce species with a small number of populations ranging from Wilts to Kent (UKMoths) including East Kent, East Sussex, North Hampshire, North Wiltshire, South Wiltshire, West Gloucestershire and West Sussex (NBN Atlas, as Adscita globulariae).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Poland, ? Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland, Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Centaurea jacea, Centaurea nigra, Centaurea scabiosa

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Cotesia geryonis (Marshall, 1885) Braconidae: Microgastrinae

External links: Search the internet:

Belgian Lepidoptera
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas, as Adscita globulariae
NHM UK Checklist
UKMoths

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 Last updated 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page