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

  

Coleophora albidella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

White Sallow Case-bearer

Tinea albidella Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775. Wien. Verz.: 137
Coleophora albidella (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775).

Bud-borer and case-bearer: The larva bores into expanding leaf buds, and later skeletonizes young leaves, rarely mining a leaf in the usual manner of other Coleophora species. It builds a 'pistol case' from silk and fragments of leaf and frass. The sides of the case are usually adorned with hairs from the leaf surface, this feature serving to distinguish it from the similar case of C. anatipennella, which feeds on sloe (Prunus spinosa) and other rosaceous trees and shrubs (UKMoths).

Blackish brown pistol case of about 7 mm, with a mouth angle of c. 70° standing almost erect on the leaf. The case is decorated with white wool, originating from the hostplant. In comparison with C. zelleriella the case is more paunchy (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The case is also illustrated in British leafminers and the Encyclopedia of Life.

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).

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

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths and the Encyclopedia of Life. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Salicaceae        
Salix       British leafminers
Salix       Pitkin & Plant
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Salix repens Creeping Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Salicaceae        
Salix       Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix atrocinerea     Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix aurita Eared Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Salix caprea Goat Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix cinerea Grey Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Salix repens Creeping Willow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Autumn-May (British leafminers). Larvae are full grown about end May (Emmet et al., 1996a).

Time of year - adults: June and July, and often comes to mercury vapour light (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widely distributed in the southern half of the British Isles in wet or marshy areas, damp woodland and fixed dunes (UKMoths) including Anglesey, Cambridgeshire, Denbighshire, Dorset, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Middlesex, North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Hampshire, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

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

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Crete, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - East and South, Sicily, Slovakia, Slovenia, ? Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Salix atrocinerea, Salix aurita, Salix caprea, Salix cinerea, Salix repens

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Campoplex fusciplica (Thomson, 1887) Ichneumonidae: Campopleginae
Gelis agilis (Fabricius, 1775) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Gelis areator (Panzer, 1804) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae

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 12-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page