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

  

Phyllonorycter staintoniella (Nicelli, 1853)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]

Cornish Midget

Lithocolletis staintoniella Nicelli, 1853
Lithocolletis desertella Gregor and Povolný, 1949
Lithocolletis tinctoriella Le Marchand, 1926. Amat. Papill. 3: 13.
Phyllonorycter staintoniella (Nicelli, 1853).

Leaf-miner: Upper-surface tentiform mine (according to Hering, 1957a, mostly lower-surface in Laburnum). The mine is strongly contracted, almost folding the leaflet to a pod and concealing the mine. Pupa in the mine in a flimsy cocoon. Frass in a corner of the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Phyllonorycter staintoniella
Mines of Phyllonorycter staintoniella on Genista pilosa
near Porthtowan, Cornwall
Image: © Bob Heckford

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).

Head pale brown, body deep yellow (Emmet et al., 1985) - a very unusual colour for a gracillariid larva (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

illustrated by Gregor and Patocka (2001a) and Patocka and Turcani (2005a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Adult: The adult is not illustrated in UKMoths (check for update). The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Fabaceae        
Genista pilosa Hairy Greenweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Genista pilosa Hairy Greenweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Fabaceae        
Chamaecytisus austriacus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Chamaecytisus ratisbonensis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Cytisus nigricans Black Broom  

Bladmineerders van Europa, as Lembotropis nigricans
Cytisus procumbens     Bladmineerders van Europa
Cytisus scoparius Broom British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Genista baetica     Bladmineerders van Europa
Genista pilosa Hairy Greenweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Genista scorpius     Bladmineerders van Europa
Genista tinctoria Dyer's Greenweed British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Laburnum anagyroides Laburnum British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Currently unknown.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including West Cornwall (NBN Atlas). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Poland, Romania, Sardinia, Slovakia and Sweden (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Cytisus nigricans, Cytisus scoparius, Genista pilosa, Genista tinctoria, Laburnum anagyroides, Cytisus nigricans

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Colastes braconius Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Exothecinae

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 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page