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

  

Caryocolum blandella (Douglas, 1852)
[Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae]

Short-barred Groundling

Gelechia blandella Douglas, 1852. Trans. ent. Soc. Lond. 2 (2): 77, t. 10 fig. 2.
Caryocolum blandella (Douglas, 1852).

Leaf-miner: The larva feeds at first in a mine, then in spun shoots or seed capsules (UKMoths).

Long narrow gallery close to the midrib. Older larvae live free among spun leaves or inflorescence (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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).

The larva is illustrated in UKMoths. Body and thoracic legs yellowish green; head and prothoracic plate black (Bland et al., 2002a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Caryophyllaceae        
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Caryophyllaceae        
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Stellaria holostea Greater Stitchwort British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: April - May (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: July and August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Locally distributed in England and Wales including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Caernarvonshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Somerset, North-west Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Devon, South Northumberland, Stafford, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Suffolk, West Sussex and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas) and the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

It generally occupies hedgerows and woodland habitat (UKMoths).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Russia - Central, East and South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Stellaria holostea

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Copidosoma filicorne (Dalman, 1820) Encyrtidae: Encyrtinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Scambus signatus (Pfeffer, 1913) Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae

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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