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

 

Perittia obscurepunctella (Stainton, 1848)
[Lepidoptera: Elachistidae]

Honeysuckle Dwarf


Aphelosetia obscurepunctella Stainton, 1848. Zoologist: 2164.
Perittia obscurepunctella
(Stainton, 1848).


Leaf-miner: Forms a large transparent blotch mine - with a central spot, where the frass collects. This spot is usually red-brown (British leafminers).

Brownish, full depth, inflated blotch, usually at the leaf margin, often with a central brown spot. Oviposition at the leaf underside. Often 2-3 larvae in a mine. 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).

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).

Pupation on the bark in a cocoon (British leafminers).

Described by Patocka (1999a), Patocka and Turcani (2005a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths by Guy Meredith. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Caprifoliaceae        
Lonicera periclymenum Honeysuckle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Lonicera periclymenum Honeysuckle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Caprifoliaceae        
Lonicera periclymenum Honeysuckle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lonicera tatarica Tartarian Honeysuckle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lonicera xylosteum Fly Honeysuckle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Symphoricarpos albus Snowberry   Hering, 1957

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

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Found in partly open woodland (British leafminers) including Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, Herefordshire, Hertfordhire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, North Ebudes, North Somerset, Shropshire, Stafford, West Cornwall and West Norfolk (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Belgium, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded in Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Lonicera periclymenum, Lonicera tatarica, Lonicera xylosteum, Symphoricarpos albus

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Scambus inanis (Schrank, 1802) Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae


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
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Last updated 18-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page