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 filipendulae (Wocke, 1871)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

Dropwort Pigmy


Nepticula filipendulae Wocke, 1871 . Cat. Lep. Eur.: 338
Nepticula ulmariae Wocke, 1879. Bresl. ent. Ztg.: 79.
Stigmella filipendulae
(Wocke, 1871).


Leaf-miner: The first part of the mine is almost filled with frass and tends to follow the leaf margin. It then broadens into a blotch, which can fill the space between the the midrib and leaf edge (British leafminers).

Egg at the uppserside of the leaf, generally on a vein or the margin. The mine is a gradually widening corridor. The first, narrow, part closely follows the leaf margin. Frass in central, interrupted line, gradually widening from a very narrow beginning (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Mines of Stigmella filipendulae on Filipendula vulgaris Image: © Ian Thirlwell (British leafminers)
Mines of Stigmella filipendulae on Filipendula vulgaris
Image: © Ian Thirlwell (British leafminers)

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).

Bright amber yellow (Emmer, 1983a); see Gustafsson and van Nieukerken (1990a) for a detailed description (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

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:

Rosaceae        
Filipendula vulgaris Dropwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Filipendula vulgaris Dropwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae        
Filipendula ulmaria Meadowsweet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Filipendula ulmaria Meadowsweet British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Filipendula vulgaris Dropwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Filipendula vulgaris Dropwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

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

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including North Hampshire, North Somerset and South Wiltshire (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

FIlipendula ulmaria, Filipendula vulgaris

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Adelius subfasciatus Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Cheloninae
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
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