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

 

Hydrellia cochleariae Haliday, 1839
[Diptera: Ephydridae]


Hydrellia cochleariae Haliday, 1839. Ann. nat. Hist. 3: 403.



Leaf-miner: Makes short, straight mines, with little frass. The larva crosses from leaf to leaf through the stem. It pupariates in the stalk, rarely in the leaf (British leafminers). A corridor that enters the leaf from its base. The larva migrates from one leaf to the other by way of the stem. Pupation in the mine, usually in the stem, less often in a leaf (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.

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).

Comments: Irwin and Chandler in Chandler (1978) did not indicate whether their host records were British or Foreign and are therefore tentatively included under 'Hosts in Britain' and 'Hosts elsewhere'.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Callitrichaceae        

? Callitriche

      Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 225
Hydrocharitaceae        
? Hydrocharis morsus-ranae Frog-bit British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 225
Stratiotes       Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Callitrichaceae        

? Callitriche

      Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 225
Callitriche       Hering, 1957
Callitriche stagnalis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Hydrocharitaceae        
? Hydrocharis morsus-ranae Frog-bit British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Irwin and Chandler in Chandler, 1978: 225
Potamogetonaceae       Bladmineerders van Europa
Potamogeton       Hering, 1957
Potamogeton        

Time of year - mines: Currently unknown.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Ayrshire, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, North Essex, North-east Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire, South Hampshire, South-west Yorkshire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Madeira, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Sicily, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Zatwarnicki, 2004 in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Hydrocharis morsus-ranae

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis viridis (Nees, 1934) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Pediobius metallicus (Nees, 1834) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Hemiptarsenus fulvicollis Westwood, 1833 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Dacnusa discolor (Förster, 1862) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Dacnusa maculipes Thomson, 1895 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Dacnusa plantaginis Griffiths, 1967 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Exotela melanocera (Thomson, 1895) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Grammospila rufiventris (Nees, 1812) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Ademon decrescens (Nees, 1811) Braconidae: Opiinae
Phaedrotoma caesa (Haliday, 1837) 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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