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

 

Melanagromyza aenea (Meigen, 1830)
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]


Agromyza aenea Meigen, 1830. Syst. Beschr. 6: 169
Melanagromyza aeneiventris subsp. fuscociliata Hendel, 1931. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 160. [Synonymised by Spencer. 1966: 10]
Melanagromyza aenea (Meigen, 1830); Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 18 (figs 28-9), 20, 121. Melanagromyza aenea (Hendel, 1920); Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 43-4, figs 17-9
Melanagromyza aenea (Meigen, 1830); Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the World Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 54, 56 (figs 209-11), 57.


Stem-borer: Larva an internal stem-borer. Pupation internal (Spencer, 1972b: 20).

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).

Puparium whitish-brown. Posterior spiracles separated by own diameter, each process with elongated ellipse of about 13 bulbs around the strong central horn (Spencer, 1972b: 18 (fig. 29), 20).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Urticaceae        
Urtica dioica Common Nettle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 121

Hosts elsewhere:

Urticaceae        
Urtica       Spencer, 1990: 54
Urtica dioica Common Nettle British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 44

Time of year - larvae: Currently unknown.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread. Surrey (Godalming), Middlesex (Scratch Wood) and Somerset (Portishead) (Spencer, 1972b: 20); Cambridgeshire, North Hampshire, South-west Yorkshire, West Gloucestershire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 44), Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Poland, Spanish mainland and Switzerland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Urtica dioica

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Syntomopus incisus Thomson, 1878 Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae
Syntomopus incurvus Walker, 1833 Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Bracon longulus Thomson, 1892 Braconidae: Braconinae


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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