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Coleophora
discordella Zeller, 1849 Lotus Case-bearer Coleophora discordella Zeller, 1849. Linn. ent. 4: 301. |
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Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The initial mine is like that of a nepticulid. The case is made form excised leaf portions, which are added to the oral end, leading to the ringed appearance. The larva causes the leaf to have white blotches. Identification cannot be made on these alone as similar blotches can be made by early instar larvae of the Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) (British leafminers). Oviposition at the leaf underside, mostly in a vein axil. The larva begins by making a narrow winding corridor with much frass in a broad central line. The corridor reminds that of a nepticulid (but the egg has a finely reticulate surface, unlike the smooth nepticulid egg.) In the end the corridor widens into an oval blotch, usually close to the leaf margin, out of which the first case is made. The full grown larva in a greyish brown composite leaf case of about 6 mm, attached to the underside of a leaf. The oldest quarter of the case is bivalved, laterally compressed, and is at an angle of 70° with the anterior part of the case. The mouth angle is around 40° (Bladmineerders van Europa). The case is also illustrated in UKMoths. 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. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk. Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:
Hosts elsewhere:
Time of year - larvae: September-May (British leafminers). Time of year - adults: Mainly in July (UKMoths). Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Found widely in a variety of habitats throughout the UK (British leafminers) including Anglesey, Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Denbighshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Dunbartonshire, East Cornwall, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sutherland, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Haddington, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Kincardineshire, Kirkudbrightshire, Leicestershire, Merionethshire, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Devon, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North-east Yorkshire, North Wiltshire, Outer Hebrides, Pembrokeshire, Shropshire, South Hampshire, South Northumberland, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Kent, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas), the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea). Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Fauna Europaea and National Biodiversity Data Centre Map). Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Sardinia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea). NBN Atlas links to known host species:
British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:
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| Last updated 11-Jul-2019 Brian Pitkin |  |
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