Coleophora serpylletorum [Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae] in Leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects

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 serpylletorum Hering, 1889
[Lepidoptera: Coleophoridae]

Cliff Case-bearer

Coleophora serpylletorum Hering, 1889. Stett. ent. Ztg. 50: 305.

Leaf-miner and case-bearer: Larva in an untidy composite leaf case of c. 9 mm with a mouth angle of 90°. The larva mines a leaf, usually at the top of a twig, completely out, often while attached to the leaf margin. When the leaf is emptied it is cut off and forms the newest addition to the case (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).

See Emmet et al (1969a) (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:

Lamiaceae
Thymus	polytrichus	Wild Thyme		Pitkin & Plant, as praecox ssp. arcticus

Hosts elsewhere:

Lamiaceae
Thymus	polytrichus	Wild Thyme	Bladmineerders van Europa, as praecox
Thymus	serpyllum	Breckland Thyme	Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: June (Emmet, Langmaid, Bland et al., 1996a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Caernarvonshire, East Kent and West Cornwall (NBN Atlas).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia - North, Sardinia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland and The Netherlands. Also recorded in the Near East (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Thymus polytrichus, Thymus serpyllum

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Currently unknown.


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	Find using Google Find using Google Scholar Find images using Google


	Last updated 19-May-2019 Brian Pitkin