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

 

Cerodontha iraeos (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851)
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Iris Leaf-miner


Agromyza ireos Goureau, 1851. Annls. Soc. ent. Fr. (2)9: 135, [as ircos R.-D] Agromyza iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851. Rev. Mag. Zool. (2)3: 395
Dizygomyza (Dizygomyza) iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851; Hendel, 1931. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 86
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851; Nowakowski, 1967. Polskie Pismo ent. 37: 642
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) iraeos Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851; Nowakowski, 1972. Polskie Pismo ent. 42(4): 759
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) ireos (Goureau, 1851); Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 104
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) iraeos (Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851); Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 217, figs 375-6
Cerodontha (Dizygomyza) ireos (Goureau, 1851); Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 331, 332 (figs 1264-5), 336.


Leaf-miner: A short white mine. Pupation in mine (Spencer, 1976: 217, 219 (fig. 376)).

Irregular corridor, essentially parallel to the leaf blade. Mine white when seen from above, uniformly greenish when seen by transparency. Frass in one, rarely more, big black lump. Larva solitary. Pupation in the mine; puparium parallel to the leaf venation (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Short, longitudinal blotches - often coalescing to make longer mines or wider mines or both (British leafminers).

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 Dempewolf (2001: 110), Sasakawa (1961), Nowakowski (1973) and illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Cerodontha iraeos larva,  lateral
Cerodontha iraeos larva, lateral
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

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).

The puparium is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Orchestes fagi larva,  dorsal
Cerodontha iraeos puparium
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Comments: The records of Cerodontha iraeos of Hering (1957a) and Robbins (1991) on Typha are almost certainly in error for Iris (G.C.D. Griffiths, pers. comm.).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Iridaceae        
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Robbins, 1991: 130
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 125
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bland, 1992

Hosts elsewhere:

Iridaceae        
Belamcanda chinensis     Sasakawa, 1961
Iris       Spencer, 1990: 336
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 217
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 331
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Dempewolf, 2001: 110
Iris pseudacorus Yellow Iris British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: July-August.

Time of year - adults: July-August; and May the following year.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread and common throughout Britain from Banff to Scilly Isles (Spencer, 1972b: 104) including Inner Hebrides (Isle of Coll) (Bland, 1992), Warwickshire (Longford, Coventry Canal) (Robbins, 1991: 130); Cambridgeshire, Cardiganshire, Denbighshire, East Gloucestershire, East Norfolk, East Ross, Glamorgan, Main Argyll, Merionethshire, Mid-west Yorkshire, North Ebudes, South Devon, South Lancashire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Kent, West Ross and Westerness (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland: Tipperary (Spencer, 1972b: 104).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands.

Also recorded from East Palaearctic and the Oriental Region (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Iris pseudacorus

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis polyzo (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Hemiptarsenus unguicellus (Zetterstedt, 1838) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Pediobius metallicus (Nees, 1834) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Merismus megapterus Walker, 1833 Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Chorebus flavipes (Goureau, 1851) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Dacnusa maculipes Thomson, 1895 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Apodesmia posticatae (Fischer, 1957) Braconidae: Opiinae
Eurytenes abnormis (Wesmael, 1835) Braconidae: Opiinae


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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