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 ochrea (Haworth, 1828)
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Large Buff Case-bearer

Porrectaria ochrea Haworth, 1828. Lep. Brit.:533
Coleophora argentivittella Toll, 1952. Bull. Soc. ent. Mulhouse: 47, fig'd
Coleophora digrammella Toll, 1954. Mem. Soc. ent. ital. 32: 103, fig'd
Coleophora ochrea (Haworth, 1828).

Leaf-miner and case-bearer: The larva builds a case from leaf fragments, adding sections as it grows, creating a long narrow and distinctive case (UKMoths).

A large, composite leaf case of 10-15 mm length, the fully developed case consisting the three succesive leaf fragments. Case light brown, bivalved; mouth angle c. 45° (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).

Described by Suire (1961a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

Adult: The adult is not illustrated in UKMoths (check for update). The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Cistaceae        
Helianthemum nummularium Common Rock-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Helianthemum nummularium Common Rock-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths

Hosts elsewhere:

Cistaceae        
Helianthemum       Belgian Lepidoptera
Helianthemum apenninum White Rock-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Helianthemum chamaecistus     Belgian Lepidoptera
Helianthemum nummularium Common Rock-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Helianthemum nummularium Common Rock-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Tuberaria       Belgian Lepidoptera
Tuberaria guttata Spotted Rock-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: September to May (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: The adults fly in July and August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Locally distributed mainly in the southern counties of England and Wales (UKMoths) including Dorset, East Kent, Glamorgan, Isle of Wight and West Gloucestershire (NBN Atlas).

It occupies dry calcareous habitats, where the larval foodplant, common rock-rose grows, preferring plants that overhang ledges (UKMoths).

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Helianthemum apenninum, Helianthemum nummularium, Tuberaria guttata

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Bracon osculator Nees, 1811 Braconidae: Braconinae
Lissonota saturator (Thunberg, 1822) Ichneumonidae: Banchinae
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