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 inulae Wocke, 1877
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Fleabane Case-bearer


Coleophora inulae Wocke, 1877. Kleinach Deutsch 2: 593.



Leaf-miner and case-bearer:
The larva builds a 'pistol case' (UKMoths).

The mature case is around 15mm long with a slightly swollen middle region, being palest at the anal end (British leafminers).

Larva in a slender tubular silken case. The case is about 15 mm long, yellow-grey, and trivalved. The mouth angle is about 0°-10°, causing the case to lie flat on the leaf (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 lives two years (Emmet et al., 1996a).

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:

Asteraceae        
Inula conyzae Ploughman's-spikenard British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Inula conyzae Ploughman's-spikenard British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Inula conyzae Ploughman's-spikenard British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Asteraceae        
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Eupatorium cannabinum Hemp-agrimony British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Inula conyzae Ploughman's-spikenard British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Inula conyzae Ploughman's-spikenard British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Inula salicaria     Belgian Lepidoptera
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Pulicaria dysenterica Common Fleabane British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: June - July (May of the following year in some cases) (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: June and July, but the species has a two-year lifecycle, appearing every other year (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: A scarce and very local species which has a small number of tiny colonies in the south of England, principally in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight (UKMoths); Caernarvonshire, Dorset, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, South Hampshire and South-east Yorkshire (NBN Atlas); and Portsmouth, Hants (British leafminers).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia - South and Slovakia. Also recorded in Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Eupatorium cannabinum, Inula conyzae, Pulicaria dysenterica

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Agathis breviseta Nees, 1812 Braconidae: Agathidinae
Agathis fuscipennis (Zetterstedt, 1838) Braconidae: Agathidinae


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