The leaf and stem  mines of British flies and other insects by Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds.


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Mompha locupletella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
[Lepidoptera: Momphidae]
.


Tinea locupletella Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775. Wien. Verz.: 141.
Adela pilipennella
Zetterstedt, 1840. Ins. Lep.: 1008.
Psacaphora quadrilobella
Herrich-Schäffer, 1854. Schmett. Europ. 5: 216.
Tinea schrankella
Hübner, 1805. Schmett. Europ.: 264.
Mompha locupletella
(Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
.


Leaf-mine: The mine is a whitish blotch with scattered blackish frass (UKMoths), usually low on the plant (British leafminers).

Oviposition on the basal part of the midrib. The young larva makes a number of short corridors radiating from this point, either in the same leaf, or on different ones; they have a central frassline, but their final sections are free of frass. Later an elongate blotch is make, also beginning on the midrib (although not necessarily its basal part). Pupation external (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Mine of Mompha locupletella on Epilobium Image: Rob Edmunds (British leafminers)
Mine of Mompha locupletella on Epilobium
Image: Rob Edmunds (British leafminers)

Larva: Greyish green; head and prothoracic plate black (Koster, 2002b; Koster & Sinev, 2003a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Pupa: In a white cocoon, which is attached to vegetation or leaf litter (British leafminers). See also Patocka & Turcáni (2005a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The male genitalia, but not the female genitalia (check for update), are illustrated by the Lepidoptera Dissection Group.

Hosts in Britain:

Onagraceae      
Epilobium     UKMoths
Epilobium alsinifolium Chickweed Willowherb British leafminers
Epilobium alsinifolium Chickweed Willowherb Pitkin & Plant
Epilobium lanceolatum Spear-leaved Willowherb British leafminers
Epilobium lanceolatum Spear-leaved Willowherb Pitkin & Plant
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb British leafminers
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb Pitkin & Plant
Epilobium palustre Marsh Willowherb British leafminers
Epilobium palustre Marsh Willowherb Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Onagraceae      
Epilobium alpestre   Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium alsinifolium Chickweed Willowherb Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium lanceolatum Spear-leaved Willowherb Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium montanum Broad-leaved Willowherb Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium palustre Marsh Willowherb Bladmineerders van Europa
Epilobium roseum Pale Willowherb Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: April and May, then again in July and August (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: The two generations of adult moths are on the wing from May to July and again in August and September (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain & Ireland: Distributed widely throughout much of the British Isles (UKMoths) including East Kent, Kincardine, North Aberdeen, South Aberdeen, South Hants, South Somerset, Stafford, Surrey, Warwick, West Gloucester, Worcester (NBN Gateway distribution map - BRERC, NE, NESBRC and SNH), the Channel Is., Northern Ireland and Ireland (Karsholt & van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea). See also British leafminers distribution map.

NBN Grid map:

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in Europe including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad Region, Latvia, Lithuania, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central, North and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Karsholt & van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea).

NBN interactive distribution maps of known host species in Britain and elsewhere:

Epilobium alsinifolium, Epilobium lanceolatum, Epilobium montanum, Epilobium palustre, Epilobium roseum

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Unknown.



External links: Search the internet:

Belgian Lepidoptera
British leafminers
NBN Gateway
Bladmineerders van Europa
Fauna Europaea
UKMoths

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Last updated 27-Aug-2010  Brian Pitkin