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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Phyllonorycter rajella (Linnaeus, 1758)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]
.


Phalaena rajella Linnaeus, 1758. Syst. Nat. (ed. 10): 542.
Tinea alnifoliella
Hübner, 1796. Samml. Europ. Schmett. Tin. 28: 193.
Phyllonorycter rajella
(Linnaeus, 1758)
.


Leaf-mine: The mine is underside, small, at or near midrib. The lower epidermis with one strong crease (British leafminers).

Lower-surface tentiform mine, not longer than 20 mm, usually in the axil of a thick lateral vein, with one strong length fold. Pupa in a tough off-white cocoon that is fastened to the floor and the roof of the mine. Almost all frass is incorporated in the sides of the cocoon (visible with a loupe in transparancy as two dark lines). In autumn not infrequently five or more mines in one leaf (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Mine of Phyllonorycter rajella on Alnus glutinosa Image: Willem Ellis (Nederlandse bladmineerders)
Mine of Phyllonorycter rajella on Alnus glutinosa
Image: Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

The mine is also described and illustrated in UKMoths.

Larva: Pale green (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Pupa: The pupa is described and illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

The cremaster is described and illustrated in British leafminers.

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:

Betulaceae      
Alnus     British leafminers
Alnus     UKMoths
Alnus cordata Italian Alder Pitkin & Plant
Alnus cordata Italian Alder UKMoths
Alnus glutinosa Alder Pitkin & Plant
Alnus incana Grey Alder Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Betulaceae      
Alnus cordata Italian Alder Bladmineerders van Europa
Alnus glutinosa Alder Bladmineerders van Europa
Alnus incana Grey Alder Bladmineerders van Europa
Alnus oregona   Bladmineerders van Europa
Alnus viridis Green Alder Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July, September - October (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Two generations; in May and again in August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain & Ireland: Quite a common species throughout the British Isles (UKMoths) including Berks, Buckingham, Cambridge, Hereford, Kincardine, Mid Perth, Mid-west York, Middlesex, North Devon, North Hants, Salop, South Aberdeen, Stafford, West Gloucester, West Kent, Worcester (NBN Gateway distribution map - BRERC, GiGL, JNCC, NE, NESBRC and SNH) and Northern Ireland (Karsholt & van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Karsholt & van Nieukerken in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Grid map:

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

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

Alnus cordata, Alnus glutinosa, Alnus incana, Alnus viridis

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Cirrospilus elegantissimus Westwood, 1841 Hymenoptera: Eulophidae
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Hymenoptera: Eulophidae


External links: Search the internet:

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

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Last updated 07-Sep-2010  Brian Pitkin