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

 

Phytomyza tenella Meigen, 1830
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]


Phytomyza tenella Meigen, 1830. Syst. Beschr. 6: 195
Phytomyza zonata Zetterstedt, 1848. Diptera Scandinaviae. 7: 2834
Phytomyza tenella Meigen, 1830; Hendel, 1935. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 497
Phytomyza pedicularis Hering, 1949b. Notul ent. 28: 182
Phytomyza tenella Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 84 (fig. 276), 85, 120
Phytomyza tenella Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 512-14, figs 897-8.
Phytomyza tenella Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the World Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 222, 227, 228 (fig. 859).


Seed-feeder: Larvae feeding in seed-heads. Pupation external (Spencer, 1976: 512).

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).

Brownish; posterior spiracles enlarged, each with about 45 bulbs.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Scrophulariaceae        
Pedicularis palustris Marsh Lousewort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 120
Pedicularis palustris Marsh Lousewort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bland, 2009
Pedicularis sylvatica Lousewort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bland, 1992
Pedicularis sylvatica Lousewort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bland, 2009

Hosts elsewhere:

Scrophulariaceae        
Pedicularis       Spencer, 1976: 512
Pedicularis palustris Marsh Lousewort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 512
Pedicularis palustris Marsh Lousewort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 227

Time of year - larvae: August.

Time of year - adults: June the following year.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Inverness (Loch Pityoulish), Elgin (Culbin Sands) (Spencer, 1972b: 85), Inner Hebrides (Isle of Coll) (Bland, 1992); and North-east Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland: Co. Clare (Burren) (Spencer, 1972b: 85).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 512), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 578), Azores, Belgium, Canary Is., Estonia, Faroe Is., French mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Lithuania, Madeira, Poland, Spanish mainland and Switzerland (Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in Canada (Spencer, 1976: 512).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Pedicularis palustris

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Chorebus tenellae Griffiths, 1967 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Dacnusa nigrella Griffiths, 1967 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Dacnusa monticola (Förster, 1862) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Opius tenellae Fischer, 1969 Braconidae: Opiinae
Phaedrotoma heringi (Fischer, 1962) 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
Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google


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"medium">macrophyllum Rayed Tansy   Bladmineerders van Europa Tanacetum vulgare Tansy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa Tanacetum vulgare Tansy British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 511

Time of year - mines: July-September.

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Probably widespread. Surrey (Horsley) (Spencer, 1972b: 79) and Warwickshire (Coventry) (Robbins, 1991: 117). South-west Yorkshire (NBN Atlas).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland: Co. Clare (the Burren) (Spencer, 1972b: 79).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 511), The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Germany (Spencer, 1976: 578), Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Achillea millefolium, Achillea ptarmica, Leucanthemum vulgare, Tanacetum macrophyllum, Tanacetum vulgare

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis pentheus (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis viridis (Nees, 1934) Eulophidae: Entedoninae


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


XHTML Validator
Last updated 09-Nov-2017 Brian Pitkin Top of page