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

  

Elachista rufocinerea (Haworth, 1828)
[Lepidoptera: Elachistidae]

Red-brindled Dwarf

Porrectaria rufocinerea Haworth, 1828. Lep. Brit. 4: 535.
Elachista rufocinerea (Haworth, 1828).

Leaf-miner: The larvae feed on a range of grasses, causing whitish mines on the blades (UKMoths). Flat, translucent mine that can either run or down; the width may vary too, can be as wide as the blade. Frass few, grey, dispersed. The larva makes several mines (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).

Dirty yellow, grey green above; head brown; prothoracic plate brown with a narrow spit (Bland, 1996a) (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 illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Comments: Festuca arundinacea is treated as Schedonorus arundinacea (Tall Fescue) by Stace (2010).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Arrhenatherum elatius False Oat-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Festuca arundinacea Tall Fescue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass   Pitkin & Plant
Phleum bertolonii Smaller Cat's-tail British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Arrhenatherum elatius False Oat-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Arrhenatherum elatius False Oat-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Festuca arundinacea Tall Fescue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Festuca arundinacea Tall Fescue British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass   Belgian Lepidoptera
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass   Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: Early spring (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Occurs widely throughout the British Isles including Anglesey, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Kincardineshire, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Montgomeryshire, North Aberdeenshire, North Ebudes, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Hampshire, South Lancashire, South Wiltshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

Also recored 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, European Turkey, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and The Netherlands (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Arrhenarherum elatius, Festuca arundinacea (= Schedonorus arundinacea), Holcus mollis, Phleum bertolonii

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

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 Last updated 18-Oct-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page