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 galbulipennella Zeller, 1838
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Kent Case-bearer


Coleophora galbulipennella Zeller, 1838. Hist. nat. Lep. Fr. Suppl. 4 (Noct.): 299, pl. 75, fig. 7
Coleophora obliterata Toll, 1952. Bull. ent. Soc. Mulhouse 56: fig'd
Coleophora otitae Zeller, 1839. Isis 32: 207.


Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The final case is about 12 mm long and many may be found on a single plant. The white case has distinctive longitudinal stripes (British leafminers).

Trivalved tubular silken case of c. 12 mm long. Mouth angle c. 40°. The case is yellowish white, with several characteristic dark length lines (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mined leaves are illustrated in the Encyclopedia of Life.

Case of Coleophora galbulipennella on Silene nutans Image: © Jon Clifton (British leafminers)
Case of Coleophora galbulipennella on Silene nutans
Image: © Jon Clifton (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).

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:

Caryophyllaceae        
Silene nutans Nottingham Catchfly British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Silene nutans Nottingham Catchfly British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Silene otites Spanish Catchfly British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Caryophyllaceae        
Cerastium       Belgian Lepidoptera
Lychnis viscaria Sticky Catchfly British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Silene       Belgian Lepidoptera
Silene nutans Nottingham Catchfly British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Silene nutans Nottingham Catchfly British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Silene otites Spanish Catchfly British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: The eggs are laid on the plant in August-September and the larva feeds in the autumn and overwinters (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Apparently widespread in Britain including East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, and West Norfolk (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia - Central and South, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Lychnis viscaria, Silene nutans, Silene otites

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Orgilus punctulator (Nees, 1811) Braconidae: Orgilinae
Gelis agilis (Fabricius, 1775) 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 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page