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

  

Chrysoesthia drurella (Fabricius, 1775)
[Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae]

Flame Neb

Tinea drurella Fabricius, 1775. Syst. ent.: 666.
Chrysoesthia drurella (Fabricius, 1775).

Leaf-miner: The larvae feed by mining the leaves forming a contorted gallery (UKMoths).

A strongly contorted, often intestinine-like corridor, often forming a secondary blotch. Much green frass in broad arcs. Full grown larva mostly on top of the midrib. Pupation external (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).

The red and white larva is illustrated in British leafminers, UKMoths and Bladmineerders van Europa.

Chrysoesthia drurella larva, dorsal
Chrysoesthia drurella larva, dorsal
Image: © Willem Ellis (Bladmineerders van Europa)

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

On the ground in detritus (British leafminers).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Chenopodiaceae        
Atriplex       British leafminers
Atriplex       Pitkin & Plant
Atriplex       UKMoths
Chenopodium       British leafminers
Chenopodium       Pitkin & Plant
Chenopodium       UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Amaranthaceae        
Amaranthus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodiaceae        
Atriplex       Belgian Lepidoptera
Atriplex calotheca     Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex hastata     Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex hortensis Garden Orache British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex nitens     Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex patula Common Orache British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Atriplex prostrata Spear-leaved Orache British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium       Belgian Lepidoptera
Chenopodium album Fat-hen British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium ambrosioides Mexican-tea   Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium bonus-henricus Good-King-Henry British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium filicifolium Fig-leaved Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium giganteum Tree Spinach   Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium glaucum Oak-leaved Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium hybridum Maple-leaved Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium murale Nettle-leaved Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium opulifolium Grey Goosefoot   Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium polyspermum Many-seeded Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium quinoa Quinoa British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium rubrum Red Goosefoot British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium urbicum Upright Goosefoot   Bladmineerders van Europa
Chenopodium vulvaria Stinking Goosefoot   Bladmineerders van Europa
Monolepis trifida     Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July - August, September (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: May and June, and again in August and September (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Frequenting open ground and wasteland, and distributed widely throughout England (UKMoths) including Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Denbighshire, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, North Hampshire, Shropshire, Stafford, West Cornwall, West Norfolk and West Suffolk (NBN Atlas). Also recorded in the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea). Rare in Scotland and not known in Ireland or Wales (UKMoths).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Atriplex calotheca, Atriplex hastata, Atriplex hortensis, Atriplex patula, Atriplex prostrata, Chenopodium album, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Chenopodium bonus-henricus, Chenopodium filicifolium, Chenopodium giganteum, Chenopodium glaucum, Chenopodium hybridum, Chenopodium murale, Chenopodium opulifolium, Chenopodium polyspermum, Chenopodium quinoa, Chenopodium rubrum, Chenopodium urbicum, Chenopodium vulvaria

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Clypeoplex cerophagus (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae

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 14-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page