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

 

Phyllonorycter lantanella (Schrank, 1802)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]

Viburnum Midget


Tinea lantanella Schrank, 1802. Fauna Boica. 2: 138.
Phyllonorycter lantanella
(Schrank, 1802).


Leaf-miner: The mine is underside, between veins, causing leaf to arch. The lower epidermis is at first white, then brown (British leafminers).

Lower-surface tentiform mine, white at first, later brown, between two side veins. Pupa without a recognisable cocoon in the mine. Before ecdysis the pupa works itself halfway out of the upperside of the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine is also illustrated in UKMoths.

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).

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

The cremaster is illustrated in British leafminers and Bladmineerders van Europa.

Adult: The adult is illustrated in UKMoths by Rob Edmunds. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Caprifoliaceae        
Viburnum       UKMoths
Viburnum lantana Wayfaring-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Viburnum lantana Wayfaring-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Viburnum lantana Wayfaring-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Viburnum opulus Guelder-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Viburnum opulus Guelder-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Viburnum tinus Laurustinus British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Viburnum tinus Laurustinus British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Rosaceae        
Sorbus aucuparia Rowan British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Caprifoliaceae        
Viburnum lantana Wayfaring-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Viburnum lantana Wayfaring-tree British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Viburnum opulus Guelder-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Viburnum opulus Guelder-rose British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Viburnum tinus Laurustinus British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Viburnum tinus Laurustinus British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosaceae        
Sorbus aucuparia Rowan British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: July, September - April (British leafminers), the second generation overwintering in this stage (UKMoths).

Time of year - adults: There are two generations, with moths on the wing in May and August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Occurs in the southern counties of England and Wales, ranging north to Warwick (UKMoths) including Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cambridgeshire, Dorset, East Gloucester, East Kent, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, South Hampshire, Stirlingshire, West Gloucestershire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Corsica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Hungary, Italian mainland, Poland, Romania, Russia Central, Northwest and South, Slovakia, Spanish mainland, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Viburnum lantana, Viburnum opulus, Viburnum tinus, Sorbus aucuparia

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Cirrospilus lyncus Walker, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Sympiesis acalle (Walker, 1848) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Sympiesis gordius (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Chrysocharis laomedon (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Aprostocetus celtidis (Erdös, 1954) Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae
Baryscapus nigroviolaceus (Nees, 1834) Eulophidae: Tetrastichinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Coloneura stylata Förster, 1862 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Colastes braconius Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Exothecinae
Cotesia notha (Marshall, 1885) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Pholetesor bicolor (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Pholetesor circumscriptus (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Pholetesor viminetorum (Wesmael, 1837) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Encrateola laevigata (Ratzeburg, 1848) Ichneumonidae: Cryptinae
Itoplectis alternans (Gravenhorst, 1829) Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae


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