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

 

LUPINUS. Lupins. [Fabaceae]


Seven species of Lupinus are recorded in Britain. These include the native Russell Lupin (L.arboreus) and the introduced Garden Lupin (L. polyphyllus), Annual Yellow-lupin (L. luteus), Bitter Blue-lupin (L. micranthus), White Lupin (L. albus), Narrow-leaved Lupin (L. angustifolius), Nootka Lupin (L. nootkatensis) and Tree Lupin (L. arboreus).

Eight British miners are recorded on Lupinus.

A key to the European miners recorded on Lupinus is provided in Bladmineerders van Europa.

 

Garden Lupin - Lupinus polyphyllus. Image: © Brian Pitkin
Garden Lupin
Lupinus polyphyllus

 



Key for the identification of the known mines of British
Diptera recorded on Lupinus


1a > Leaf-miner: A distinctive mine primarily above mid-rib, with irregular short lateral offshoots into leaf blade. Pupation external (Spencer, 1972: 51 (fig. 172), 55; Spencer, 1976: 270, 271 (fig. 486)).

Branched, whitish, upper-surface corridor; main axis overlying the midrib; side branches overlying the main lateral veins. (In Campanula and Phyteuma the mine is much less branched, sometimes nothing more than a corridor on top of the midrib). Frass in rather long strings. Usually the mines begins as a long and narrow, shallow, tortuous lower-surface corridor that ends upon the midrib but otherwise is not associated with the leaf venation. Often this initial corridor is filled with callus, and then even less conspicuous. Pupation outside the mine.

A linear mine on the upper surface, usually following the midrib and showing side branches along the veins. The frass is in strings.

Liriomyza strigata larva,  lateral
Liriomyza strigata larva, lateral
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Polyphagous. On more than 40 host genera in 15 families including Lupinus in Britain. Widespread throughout Britain. Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland. Widespread in continental Europe.

Liriomyza strigata (Meigen, 1830) [Diptera: Agromyzidae].

1b > Leaf-miner: Mine not primarily associated with mid-rib.

2

2a > Leaf-miner: An initially linear leaf-mine, normally adjoining leaf-margin and running towards apex of leaf, then turning and widening into a blotch in the area of the mid-rib (Spencer, 1972b: 40, fig. 123; Spencer, 1976: 117, fig. 190).

Hooklike, upper-surface corridor. The corridor begins near the base of a leaflet, runs along the margin to the tip, then, quickly widening, redescends over the midrib towards the base of the leaflet. Frass in the corridor part in fine grains, further up in small clumps. Pupation outside the mine. Older mines turn black and then are somewhat easier to find.

A narrow corridor along the leaf edge, turning and making a blotch in the midrib area.

Puparium reddish-orange

On Cytisus, Genista, Lupinus, Spartium and Ulex in Britain and elsewhere. Common in gardens in Britain where Cytisus is frequently cultivated. Widespread in continental Europe.

Agromyza johannae Meijere, 1924 [Diptera: Agromyzidae].

2b > Leaf-miner: A short, irregular, linear upper surface mine on any part of the leaf. Puparium pale yellowish brown

On 119 plant genera in 31 plant families of which only 4 plant genera in 2 plant families, incuding Lupinus, in Britain. Local, probably introduced to Britain. Widespread in continental Europe particularly in Botanical Gardens and glasshouses. Also recorded in Egypt.

Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach, 1858) [Diptera: Agromyzidae].

2c > Leaf-miner: Corridor leaf-mine in leaves. An upper surface linear mine with frass in conspicuous greenish strips, largely alternating at each side of the channel (Spencer, 1976: 241).

Upper-surface, unbranched corridor, relatively broad from the start on, but only weakly widening subsequently. The fresh mine is bright green, but turns whitish, later brown, quickly. Frass in a wide green band in the centre of the corridor, with small black granules at either side. Pupation outside the mine.

Forms an upper surface mine, with the frass in a green strips.

Liriomyza congesta puparium
Liriomyza congesta puparium
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Polyphagous. On numerous genera of Fabaceae, but not yet on Lupinus, in Britain. Widespread in Britain. Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland and widespread and common throughout most of Europe

Liriomyza congesta (Becker, 1903) [Diptera: Agromyzidae].

2d > Leaf-miner: Mine linear, whitish, both upper and lower surface. Pupation internal, at the end of the mine with the anterior spiracles projecting through the epidermis (Spencer, 1976: 433).

Upper-surface, less often lower-surface corridor. Frass in isolated grains. Pupation within the mine, usually in a lower-surface puparial chamber.

A long whitish upper surface corridor, which eventually goes lower surface.

Two highly polyphagous species of Chromatomyia, with indistinguishable mines, have been recorded in Britain. These are syngenesiae (Hardy) and horticola (Goureau) which can only be distinguished by the male genitalia. Both species are widespread in Britain and elsewhere, although syngenesiae is almost entirely restricted to Asteraceae. Records on Asteraceae not based on examination of male genitalia are treated in this account as Chromatomyia 'atricornis'.

Chromatomyia horticola is recorded on 160 plant genera in 31 families, of which 55 plant genera in 19 families, including Lupinus, in Britain.

Chromatomyia horticola (Goureau, 1851) [Diptera: Agromyzidae].

2e > Leaf-miner: The mine starts as a long, narrow, winding corridor running towards the midrib, widening to a blotch. Usually upper-surface, but in small leaves also full-depth parts may occur. The blotch has broad lobes; in their ends most frass is accumulated in the form of green patches or clouds. Sometimes several larvae share mine. Pupation usually in the soil, less often in the leaf (and then generally not in the mine itself but in a small separated mine, that may even be made in the petiole).

Scaptomyza graminum on
Mine of Scaptomyza graminum on Cerastium glomeratum
Image: © Jean-Yves Baugnée (Bladmineerders van Europa)

Polyphagous. On ? Amaranthus, Cerastium, Lychnis, Myosoton, Nasturtium, Silene, Stellaria, Atriplex, ? Anthyllis, ? Lupinus, ? Medicago, ? Montia and ? Antirrhinum in Britain.

On Amaranthus, Lepidium, Moricandia, ? Rorippa, Agrostemma, Arenaria, Cerastium, Corrigiola, Cucubalus, Dianthus, Gypsophila, Lychnis, Moehringia, Myosoton, Polycarpon, Saponaria, Silene, Spergularia, Stellaria, Vaccaria, Viscaria, Atriplex, Beta, Chenopodium, Obione, Salicornia, Spinacia, Anthyllis, Lupinus, Medicago, Allium, Montia, Portulaca and Antirrhinum elsewhere. Widespread in Britain and continental Europe.

Scaptomyza graminum (Fallén, 1823) [Diptera: Drosophilidae].



Key for the identification of the known mines of British
non-Diptera recorded on Lupinus


Note: The larvae of mining Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera may live in a corridor mine, a corridor-blotch mine, a blotch mine, a case, a rolled or folded leaf, a tentiform mine or sandwiched between two more or less circular leaf sections in later instars. Larva may pupate in a silk cocoon. The larva may have six legs (although they may be reduced or absent), a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding). Larvae of Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera usually also have abdominal legs (see examples). Frass, if present, never in two rows. Unless feeding externally from within a case the larva usually vacates the mine by chewing an exit hole. Pupa with visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).


1a > Leaf-miner: In the first instar the larva mines the leaves, forming short, irregular, blotch-like mines, but in later instars it lives externally, feeding in spun leaves and often twisting those of tender shoots. Larval head light-brown or yellowish brown, edged with black postero-laterally, ocellar area blackish; prothoracic plate black edged with whitish anteriorly; abdomen dull dark green; pinacula distinct, black, sometimes brownish but with black bases to setae; anal plate large, black (Bradley et al., 1973). Small, full depth mine without a definite shape; little frass. Some silk is deposited in the mine. The larva soon leaves the mine and continues feeding among spun leaves.

Polyphagous. On numerous genera and species of several plant families, but not yet on Lupinus, in Britain. On numerous genera and species of several plant families, including Lupinus elsewhere. Widespread in Britain and continental Europe. Also recorded from the Channel Is.

Cnephasia incertana (Treitschke, 1835) [Lepidoptera: Tortricidae].

1b > Leaf-miner: An irregular gallery filled with greenish frass, leading to a circular or oval blotch with blackish frass arranged in a spiral fashion. The very first part of the mine is a densely contorted corridor of about 2 mm long, that quickly turns brown. It is followed by a more or less straight corridor of c. 10 mm, entirely filled with greyish green frass. This suddenly widens into a round blotch that during its expansion overruns the earlier corridor and in the end may occupy half of a Laburnum leaflet. The frass, greenish at first, black later, is deposited in the bloth in roughly concentric arcs, glued to the upper epidermis. Pupation external, exit slit in upper epidermis.

On Cytsisus, Genista, Laburnum, Lupinus and Piptanthus in Britain and Astragalus, Chamaecytisus, Genista, Laburnum, Laburnocytisus, Lupinus and Petteria elsewhere. Widespread in Britain and continental Euorpe. Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland.

Leucoptera laburnella (Stainton, 1851) [Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae].



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