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

 

Bucculatrix bechsteinella (Bechstein & Scharfenberg, 1805)
[Lepidoptera: Bucculatricidae]

Hawthorn Bent-wing


Tinea bechsteinella Bechstein & Scharfenberg, 1805
Lyonetia crataegi
Zeller, 1839. Isis: 216. [Synonymised by Hering, 1957]
Bucculatrix bechsteinella
(Bechstein and Scharfenberg, 1805).


Leaf-miner: The larvae initially mining the leaves in a short, contorted gallery. As the larva develops it leaves the mine to feed externally, creating windows on the upperside of the leaves (UKMoths).

Oviposition at the leaf upperside, egg shell iridescent. Small, hook-like corridor, mostly in a vein axil. Frass in a very thick central line. The larva soon leaves the mine through an untidy hole and subsequenty feeds living freely on the leaf (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also illustrated in British leafminers.

Larva: The larvae of moths have a head capsule and chewing mouthparts with opposable mandibles (see video of a gracillarid larva feeding), six thoracic legs and abdominal legs (see examples).

Mining larvae uniformly greenish yellow with a darker head and prothoracic shield (Emmet, 1985a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The larva is illustrated in British leafminers.

Pupa: The pupae of moths have visible head appendages, wings and legs which lie in sheaths (see examples).

Pupation occurs in a ribbed white cocoon spun on debris. The winter is passed in this stage. (UKMoths). The cocoon is illustrated in British leafminers.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Rosaceae        
Crataegus       Pitkin & Plant
Crataegus       British leafminers
Crataegus       UKMoths
Malus       Pitkin & Plant
Malus       British leafminers
Malus       UKMoths
Pyrus       Pitkin & Plant
Pyrus       British leafminers
Pyrus       UKMoths
Sorbus       Pitkin & Plant
Sorbus       British leafminers
Sorbus       UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Rosaceae        
Amelanchier       Bladmineerders van Europa
Chaenomeles       Hering, 1957a
Cotoneaster       Hering, 1957a
Crataegus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Crataegus douglasii     Bladmineerders van Europa
Crataegus laevigata Midland Hawthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Crataegus monogyna Hawthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Cydonia oblonga Quince British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957a
Malus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Malus pumila Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al.

Bladmineerders van Europa, as Malus domestica

Malus sylvestris Crab Apple British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957a
Mespilus germanica Medlar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Mespilus germanica Medlar British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Hering, 1957a
Prunus instititia     Bladmineerders van Europa
Prunus spinosa Blackthorn British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Pyracantha coccinea Firethorn   Bladmineerders van Europa
Pyracantha coccinea Firethorn   Hering, 1957a
Pyrus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Pyrus communis Pear   Bladmineerders van Europa
Pyrus communis Pear   Hering, 1957a
Sorbus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Sorbus aria Common Whitebeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus aucuparia Rowan British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Sorbus torminalis Service-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July and August (UKMoths; British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: May and early June (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: The moth occurs in wooded areas throughout England and southern Scotland (UKMoths) including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, Durham, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, North Essex, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, South Northumberland, Shropshire, Stafford, West Kent, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Kaliningrad Region, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and Northwest, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Switzerland (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species: To be added

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Apanteles corvinus Reinhard, 1880 Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Diadegma crassum (Bridgman, 1889) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Diadegma pusio (Holmgren, 1860) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Mesochorus discitergus (Say, 1835) Ichneumonidae: Mesochorinae


External links: Search the internet:

Belgian Lepidoptera
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist
UKMoths

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Last updated 13-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page