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

 

Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920. Arch. Naturgesch. 84A(7)(1918): 121
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Hendel, 1931. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 118
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 36 (fig. 105), 39, 116
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 109-110, figs 171-2
Agromyza flavipennis Hendel, 1920; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 204, 205, 206 (fig. 761).


Leaf-miner: A blotch-mine invariably adjoining margin of leaf (Spencer, 1976: 110, fig. 105).

Upper-surface, yet rather deep, therefore quite transparent, blotch, always along the leaf margin, generally in the distal half of the leaf. The blotch is preceded by a short and broad corridor, most of the time overrun later. Four to eight larvae may co-occur in a leaf. Pupation outside the mine, exit slit in lower epidermis (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larvae of flies are leg-less maggots without a head capsule (see examples). They never have thoracic or abdominal legs. They do not have chewing mouthparts, although they do have a characteristic cephalo-pharyngeal skeleton (see examples), usually visible internally through the body wall.

The larva is described by de Meijere (1925). Posterior spiracles each with 3 bulbs (Spencer, 1976: 110).

Puparium: The puparia of flies are formed within the hardened last larval skin or puparium and as a result sheaths enclosing head appendages, wings and legs are not visible externally (see examples).

Reddish-brown or reddish-orange (Spencer, 1976: 110).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Lamiaceae        
Glechoma hederacea Ground-ivy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1989: 19
Lamium       Robbins, 1991: 102
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Robbins, 1989: 19
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Spencer, 1972b: 116

Hosts elsewhere:

Lamiaceae        
Lamiastrum galeobdolon Yellow Archangel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lamium       Spencer, 1990: 205
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Spencer, 1976: 110
Lamium album White Dead-nettle   Bladmineerders van Europa
Lamium maculalatum Spotted Dead-nettle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Lamium purpureum Red Dead-nettle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: Larvae in May-early June, in a single generation (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: May.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Uncommon. Buckinghamshire (Slough), Surrey (Bookham) (Spencer, 1972b: 39), Warwickshire (Bodymoor Heath) (Robbins, 1991: 102), Cambridgeshire, East Suffolk, Mid-west Yorkshire, Middlesex and South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 109), The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 546), Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Glechoma hederacea, Lamium album, Lamium purpureum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Miscogaster hortensis Walker, 1833 Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae


External links: Search the internet:
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist
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