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 solennis (Meigen, 1826)
[Diptera: Anthomyiidae]


Anthomyia solennis Meigen, 1826. Syst. Beschr. 5: 187
Anthomyia versicolor Meigen, 1826. Syst. Beschr. 5: 184. [Synonymised by Michelsen in Fauna Europaea)
Musca rumicis Sommerfelt, 1827. K. norska. Vidensk. Selsk. Skr. (2) 2 (1): 99
Chlorina thoracica Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830. Essai Myod. : 603
Anthomyia rumicis Bouché, 1834. Naturgesch. Ins. 1: 209
Anthomyza nigritarsis Zetterstedt, 1837. Isis, Leipzig. 1837: 46. [Nomen nudum]
Anthomyza nigritarsis Zetterstedt, 1838. Insecta Lapp. : 696. [Synonymised by Michelsen, 1985]
Anthomyia rufifrons von Roser, 1840. CorrespBl. wurtt. landw. Ver. Stuttg. (N.S.) 17(1): 59
Pegomya acetosae Robineau-Desvoidy, 1851. Revue Mag. Zool. (2) 3: 349
Pegomyia exilis Strobl, 1906. Mems R. Soc. esp. Hist. nat. 3: 349, as var of nigritarsis.
Pegomya solennis Meigen, 1826.


Leaf-miner: Linear mine, becoming a blotch. Two or more larvae feeding together. Frass in lines.

At the start of the mine on the leaf under surface a group of about 5 oval white egg shells (just 1 on the small leaves of Rumex acetosella). The emerging larvae initally work shoulder to shoulder in making a broad corridor. Later they split up, making a large blotch, that often is enlarged even more by fusion with other mines. The mine is practically full depth. Frass blackish-green, often deliquescent. The larvae can leave a mine and restart elsewhere. Pupation outside the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine starts as a short corridor on the lower surface and then becomes a large upper surface blotch. Several larvae can mine together (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 Vos-de Wilde (1935) and illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa and British leafminers.

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 described by Stork (1936) and illustrated in (Bladmineerders van Europa) and British leafminers.

Pegomya laticornis puparium
Pegomya solennis puparium
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Comments: The mine, pupa and adult are illustrated in the the British Leafminers Newsletter.

Records of Pegomyia versicolor on Heracleum (Robbins, 1991) and ? H. sphondylium (Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 228) are discounted by Griffiths (1982) as probable misidentifications of the tephritid Euleia heraclei. Ackland in Chandler (1978) did not indicate whether his host records were British or Foreign and are therefore included under 'Hosts in Britain' and 'Hosts elsewhere

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Polygonaceae        

? Oxyria

      Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 228, as Pegomya nigritarsis
? Polygonum       Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 228, as Pegomya nigritarsis
? Rumex       Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 228, as Pegomya versicolor
Rumex       British leafminers
Rumex       Mines in BMNH
Rumex       Robbins, 1991: 70
Rumex acetosa Common Sorrel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Rumex acetosella Sheep's Sorrel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Rumex crispus Curled Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Brown et al., 1990
Rumex crispus Curled Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Rumex mexicanus     Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Polygonaceae        
Emex spinosa     Bladmineerders van Europa

? Oxyria

      Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 228, as Pegomya nigritarsis
Oxyria       Hering, 1924b
Oxyria digyna Mountain Sorrel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Persicaria       Bladmineerders van Europa
? Polygonum       Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 228, as Pegomya nigritarsis
Polygonum       Hering, 1924b
? Rumex       Ackland in Chandler, 1978: 228, as Pegomya versicolor
Rumex       Hering, 1924b
Rumex acetosa Common Sorrel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex acetosella Sheep's Sorrel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex alpinus Monk's-rhubarb British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex aquaticus Scottish Dock   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex arifolius     Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex chrysocarpos     Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex conglomeratus Clustered Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex cordifolius     Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex crispus Curled Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex hydrolapathum Water Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex hydrolapathum x aquaticus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex hymenosepalus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex maritimus Golden Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex obtusifolius Broad-leaved Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex orientalis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex palustris Marsh Dock   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex patientia Patience Dock   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex pseudonatronatus Northern Dock   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex pulcher Fiddle Dock British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex salicifolius Willow-leaved Dock   Bladmineerders van Europa
Rumex scutatus French Sorrel British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: June-July, September, November.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Warwickshire (Barston and Sutton Park) (Robbins, 1991), Hampshire (Fleet) (British leafminers); Anglesey, Berkshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumberland, Dumfriesshire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Monmouthshire, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Orkney, Oxfordshire, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Somerset, South-west Yorkashire, Surrey, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Michelsen in Fauna Europaea).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including The Netherlands, Luxembourg (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (Gosseries and Ackland, 1991; de Meijere, 1939), Austria, Balearic Is., Crete, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Russia - Central, North and Northwest, Sicily, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine (Michelsen in Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Oxyria digyna, Rumex acetosa, Rumex acetosella, Rumex alpinus, Rumex aquaticus, Rumex conglomeratus, Rumex crispus, Rumex hydrolapathum, Rumex maritimus, Rumex obtusifolius, Rumex palustris, Rumex patientia, Rumex patientia subsp. orientalis, Rumex pulcher, Rumex salicifolius, Rumex scutatus

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Lamprotatus splendens Westwood, 1833 Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Adelurola florimela (Haliday, 1838) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Phaenocarpa ruficeps (Nees, 1812) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Apodesmia irregularis Wesmael, 1835 Braconidae: Opiinae
Apodesmia rufipes (Wesmael, 1835) Braconidae: Opiinae
Biosteres carbonarius (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Opiinae
Biosteres haemorrhoeus (Haliday, 1837) Braconidae: Opiinae
Biosteres placidus (Haliday, 1837) Braconidae: Opiinae
Biosteres spinaciae (Thomson, 1895) Braconidae: Opiinae
Biosteres wesmaelii (Haliday, 1837) Braconidae: Opiinae
Diachasma fulgidum (Haliday, 1837) Braconidae: Opiinae
Opius pallipes Wesmael, 1835 Braconidae: Opiinae
Phaedrotoma munda (Förster, 1862) Braconidae: Opiinae
Utetes testaceus (Wesmael, 1838) 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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