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

  

Leucoptera lathyrifoliella (Stainton, 1866)
[Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae]

Southern Bent-wing

Cemiostoma lathyrifoliella Stainton, 1866. Entomol. Ann.: 170.
Leucoptera lathyrifoliella (Stainton, 1866).

Leaf-miner: A blotch mine is formed with a small area of browning of the leaf around the egg (British leafminers).

Flat, upper-surface, oval blotch without a preceding gallery, with clear amounts of greenish frass. Sometimes more than one mine in a leaflet, that can merge. Pupation outside the mine (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).Widest in the metathorax; segment limits deeply constricted. Head shining pale yellow (darker in earlier instars), mouth parts light brown. Prothoracic plate divided, obscure, with a pair of darkened spots anteriorly. Thoracic feet small, shining pale yellow like the body (Emmet, 1985a) (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:

Fabaceae        
Lathyrus latifolius Broad-leaved Everlasting-pea British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Lathyrus montanus Bitter-vetch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Lathyrus sylvestris Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Lathyrus sylvestris Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Fabaceae        
Lathyrus latifolius Broad-leaved Everlasting-pea British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lathyrus montanus Bitter-vetch British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lathyrus pannonicus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Lathyrus pratensis Meadow Vetchling British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lathyrus sylvestris Narrow-leaved Everlasting-pea British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lathyrus tuberosus Tuberous Pea British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: August.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Isle of Wight, Merionethshire, South Devon, South-west Yorkshire and West Cornwall (NBN Atlas). A very local mainly coastal species, tending to be confined to cliffs and undercliffs (British leafminers). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea).

Distribution elsewhere: Northwest Europe including Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norwegian mainland and Sweden (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Lathyrus latifolius, Lathyrus montanus, Lathyrus pratensis, Lathyrus sylvestris, Lathyrus tuberosus

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 27-Jun-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page