Pegomya exilis [Diptera: Anthomyiidae] in Leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects

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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

Pegomya exilis (Meigen, 1826)
[Diptera: Anthomyiidae]

Anthomyia exilis Meigen, 1826
Pegomya exilis (Meigen, 1826).

Leaf-miner: Mine indistinguishable from P. betae or P. hyoscyami (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.

Puparia: 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: Pegomya exilis and Pegomya cunicularia were distinguished from Pegomya betae and Pegomya hyoscyami by Michelsen (1980). Material of both [the former species] had previously been assigned to those [two latter] species (Chandler, pers. comm.).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland: Currently unknown.

Hosts elsewhere:

Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodium	album	Fat-hen	Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium	glaucum	Oak-leaved Goosefoot	Bladmineerders van Europa
Spinacia	oleracea	Spinach	Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: Unknown.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Pegomya exilis and Pegomya cunicularia were distinguished from Pegomya betae and Pegomya hyoscyami by Michelsen (1980). Material of both [the former species] had previously been assigned to those [two latter] species (Chandler, pers. comm.). It is not known whether any of this previously mis-identified material is British.

Distribution elsewhere: Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Italian mainland, Norwegian mainland, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and East Palaearctic (Michelsen in Fauna Europaea)

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Chenopodium album, Chenopodium glaucum, Spinacia oleracea

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.


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


	Last updated 28-Mar-2018 Brian Pitkin