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

  

Stigmella aurella (Fabricius, 1775)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

Golden Pigmy

Tinea aurella Fabricius, 1775. Syst. Ent.: 606.
Nepticula fragariella Heinemann, 1862.
Nepticula gei Wocke, 1871. Cat. Lep. Europ.: 336.
Nepticula nitens Fologne, 1862. Ann. Soc. ent. Belge.: 164, pl. 2 fig. 5.
Stigmella aurella (Fabricius, 1775).

Leaf-miner: A long gallery with dispersed frass (British leafminers).

Oviposition may be at either side of the leaf, not necessarily close to a vein. The mine is a not very tortuous corridor, not widened in the end. Frass in a broad central line. The mine strongly overlaps with the one of Stigmella splendidissimella (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also illustrated in UKMoths.

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 amber-yellow, head yellowish-brown (British leafminers). The larva is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).The cocoon is illustrated in British leafminers and UKMoths.

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosaceae        
Agrimonia       British leafminers
Agrimonia eupatoria Agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Fragaria       British leafminers
Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Geum       British leafminers
Geum rivale Water Avens British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Geum urbanum Wood Avens British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Potentilla erecta Tormentil British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Rubus   A bramble   British leafminers
Rubus   A bramble   UKMoths
Rubus   A bramble   Pitkin & Plant (as f. nitens)
Rubus idaeus Raspberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Rob Edmunds (pers. comm.)
Rubus loganobaccus Loganberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Geraniaceae        
Geranium endressii French Crane's-bill British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Geranium versicolor Pencilled Crane's-bill British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosaceae        
Agrimonia       Belgian Lepidoptera
Agrimonia eupatoria Agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Agrimonia procera Fragrant Agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Aremonia agriminoides Bastard Agrimony   Bladmineerders van Europa
Fragaria       Belgian Lepidoptera
Fragaria moschata Hautbois Strawberry   Bladmineerders van Europa
Fragaria vesca Wild Strawberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Fragaria viridis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Geum       Belgian Lepidoptera
Geum rivale Water Avens British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Geum urbanum Wood Avens British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Rubus caesius Dewberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Rubus caesius Dewberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus dumetorum A bramble   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus fruticosus Bramble / Blackberry   Belgian Lepidoptera
Rubus fruticosus Bramble / Blackberry   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus idaeus Raspberry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus laciniatus Parsley-leaved Bramble British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus plicatus A bramble   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus sanguineus A bramble   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus saxatilis Stone Bramble British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rubus ulmifolius A bramble British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: May-June, July-August, October-March (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: May and later in the summer (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: This species is probably the commonest and most widespread in the British Isles (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Ayrshire, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, East Sutherland, Edinburgh, Elgin, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kincardineshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, North Essex, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, North-east Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Essex, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire and South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas), the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dodecanese Is., French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad Region, Lithuania, Madeira, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Sardinia, Sicily, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Also recorded in the East Palaearctic (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Agrimonia eupatoria, Agrimonia procera, Fragaria moschata, Fragaria vesca, Geranium endressii, Geranium versicolor, Geum rivale, Geum urbanum, Potentilla erecta, Rubus caesius, Rubus fruticosus, Rubus idaeus, Rubus laciniatus, Rubus loganobaccus, Rubus plicatus, Rubus saxatilis, Rubus ulmifolius

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Chrysocharis prodice (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Stenomesius rufescens (Retzius, 1783) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Adelius subfasciatus Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Cheloninae
Gnamptodon decoris (Förster, 1862) Braconidae: Gnamptodontinae
Gnamptodon pumilio (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Gnamptodontinae
Mirax rufilabris Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Miracinae

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