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

  

Stemonocera cornuta (Scopoli, 1772)
[Diptera: Tephritidae]

Musca cornuta Scopoli, 1772. Ann. Hist. nat., Lipsiae 5: 123
Trypeta abrotani Meigen, 1826. Syst. Beschr. 5: 314
Vidalia cornuta (Scopoli, 1772); White, 1988. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5a): 25, 40, 64.
Stemonocera cornuta (Scopoli, 1772.

Leaf-miner: The mine mine begins as a long, hairlike corridor. The last part of it runs perpendicular to a leaf segment. The part of the leaf that thereby is cut off Wiltshire, and here a large blotch is made. Frass scattered in the mine. Mine practically full-depth, yellowish green to reddish brown, with conspicuous secondary feeding lines. Pupation outside the mine. See also Seidel (1926a) for an extensive description of the mine (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.

The larva is described by Seidel (1926).

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).

Yellow; anterior spiracle openings arranged in large arcs, not elevated on a fan-shaped structure; posterior spiracles each with the central opening larger and more raised than the lateral openings (White, 1988).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Asteraceae        
Eupatorium       Robbins, 1991: 114
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. White, 1988: 64

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Adenostyles       Hering, 1957
Adenostyles alliariae     Bladmineerders van Europa
Adenostyles alpina     Bladmineerders van Europa
Eupatorium       Hering, 1957
Eupatorium       Uffen in Chandler, 1978: 222
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Petasites       Hering, 1957
? Petasites       White, 1988: 64
Petasites hybridus Butterbur British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Senecio       Hering, 1957
Senecio       Uffen in Chandler, 1978: 222
Senecio germanicus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Senecio jacobaea Common Ragwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Senecio nemorensis Wood Ragwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. White, 1988: 64
Senecio nemorensis Wood Ragwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Tussilago       Uffen in Chandler, 1978: 222
Tussilago       Hering, 1957
? Tussilago       White, 1988: 64
Tussilago farfara Colt's-foot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: August-October (Hering, 1957).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: England, as far north as Yorkshire, and Wales (White, 1988); Cambridgeshire, East Norfolk, North Hampshire and South Devon (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe (White, 1988) including Belgium (Leclercq and de Bruyn, 1991), Austria, Germany, Italian mainland, Poland, Russia - Central, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland (Merz and Korneyev, in Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in East Palaearctic (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Eupatorium cannabinum, Petasites hybridus, Senecio jacobaea, Senecio nemorensis, Tussilago farfara

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Eurytenes geniculatus (Thomson, 1895) Braconidae: Opiinae

External links: Search the internet:

Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life