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

  

Parectopa ononidis (Zeller, 1839)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]

Clover Slender

Gracilaria ononidis Zeller, 1839. Isis: 209.
Parectopa ononidis (Zeller, 1839).

Leaf-miner: The mine begins as a tiny, lower-surface epidermal corridor. Only after the first moult the larva starts feeding on the leaf parenchyma. The first result is a corridor overlying the midrib. From here branches enter the leaf disk; gradually they widen and merge, laeving in the end almost the entire leaf mined out. Almost all frass is ejected. The larva can leave its mine and make a new one elsewhere. Pupation witin the mine (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).

Golden or greenish yellow (Bladmineerders van Europa).

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

The pupa is illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

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:

Fabaceae        
Ononis British leafminers
Ononis       Pitkin & Plant
Trifolium pratense Red Clover British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Trifolium British leafminers
Trifolium       Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Fabaceae        
Ononis       Belgian Lepidoptera
Ononis repens Common Restharrow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Ononis repens Common Restharrow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Ononis spinosa Spiny Restharrow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Ononis spinosa Spiny Restharrow British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Trifolium       Belgian Lepidoptera
Trifolium medium Zigzag Clover British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Trifolium medium Zigzag Clover British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Trifolium montanum     Belgian Lepidoptera
Trifolium montanum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Trifolium ochroleucum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Trifolium pratense Red Clover British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Trifolium pratense Red Clover British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Trifolium repens White Clover British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Trifolium repens White Clover British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July; hibernating from September - April (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Britain including Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, East Kent, Isle of Wight, Middlesex, North Hampshire and Surrey (NBN Atlas). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Corsica, Czech Republic, Danish mainland, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, Northwest and South, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Ononis repens, Ononis spinosa, Trifolium medium, Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Dolichogenidea halidayi (Marshall, 1872) Braconidae: Microgastrinae

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

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 Last updated 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page