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

 

Tischeria dodonaea Stainton, 1858
[Lepidoptera: Tischeriidae]

Small Carl


Tischeria dodonaea Stainton, 1858. Nat. Hist. Tin. 3: 230.


Leaf-miner: A chestnut brown blotch on upper side of leaf, frass in concentric arcs (British leafminers).

Brick red, upper-surface blotch, not preceded by a corridor. Almost all frass is ejected through a slit in the upper epidermis, at the margin of the mine. Characteristic is a pattern of fine concentric lines around the site of oviposition. Rather soon the larva begins to make a flat saucer-shaped cocoon. During feeding pauses it rests here in a horse-shoe position (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 yellow 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).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Fagaceae        
Castanea       British leafminers
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus       British leafminers
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Fagaceae        
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus faginea     Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus macrolepis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus pubescens Downy Oak   Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus rubra Red Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus x turneri     Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September - November (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in England including Caernarvonshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Suffolk, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Isle of Wight, Merionethshire, Shropshire, South Hampshire, South Somerset, South Wiltshire, Stafford, Warwickshire, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk and Worcestershire (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 Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, North Aegean Is., Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia - East, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Castanea sativa, Quercus petraea, Quercus pubescens, Quercus robur, Quercus rubra, Quercus x turneri

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Chrysocharis nautius (Walker, 1846) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Cirrospilus diallus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus lyncus Walker, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Pnigalio agraules (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Coloneura stylata Förster, 1862 Braconidae: Alysiinae
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
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Last updated 12-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page