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 messaniella (Zeller, 1846)
[Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae]

Garden Midget


Lithocolletis messaniella Zeller, 1846 . Linn. ent. 1: 221, t. 1 fig. 23.
Phyllonorycter messaniella
(Zeller, 1846).


Leaf-miner: The mine is oval on Q. ilex (note - there may be several mines in the leaf), and similar to P. quercifoliella on deciduous oaks. It is between adjacent veins on beech and hornbeam (British leafminers).

Small, oval, lower-surface tentiform mine, 9-14 mm long, mostly between two lateral veins. The lower epidermis with a single sharp fold (sometimes forked near its end). Pupa in very flimsy cocoon, that contains a bit of frass laterally and at the rear end (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).

The larva is a pale yellow colour (British leafminers). The larva is illustrated in 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 illustrated in UKMoths. The species is included in mothdissection.co.uk.

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Betulaceae        
Betula       Pitkin & Plant
Carpinus       British leafminers
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Ostrya carpinifolia     British lleafminers
Fagaceae        
Castanea       British leafminers
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. UKMoths
Fagus       British leafminers
Fagus       UKMoths
Fagus sylvatica Beech British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Nothofagus       Pitkin & Plant
Quercus       British leafminers
Quercus       UKMoths
Quercus cerris Turkey Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus x crenata Lucombe Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus ilex Evergreen Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus suber Cork Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. British leafminers
Rosaceae        
Malus       Pitkin & Plant
Prunus       Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Betulaceae        
Carpinus betulus Hornbeam British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Fagaceae        
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Fagus sylvatica Beech British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus ilex Evergreen Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus ilex Evergreen Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus suber Cork Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus x turneri     Bladmineerders van Europa
Rosaceae        
Prunus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Tiliaceae        
Tilia       Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: March - April, July, October (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: The adult moths occur in a number of generations, any time between April and November (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Fairly common throughout much of the British Isles, though more so in the south (UKMoths) including Bedfordshire, Breconshire, Buckinghamshire, Caernarvonshire, Cambridgeshire, Carmarthenshire, Derbyshire, Dorset, Durham, East Cornwall, East Gloucestershire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Ross, East Suffolk, East Sussex, Flintshire, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Linlithgow, Merionethshire, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, North Devon, North Essex, North Northumberland, North Somerset, North Wiltshire, Pembrokeshire, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Aberdeenshire, South Devon, South Lancashire, South Northumberland, South Wiltshire, South-east Yorkshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire, West Lancashire, West Norfolk, West Suffolk, Westmorland, Wigtownshire and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas), the Channel Is. (Fauna Europaea).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

Also recorded from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (Fauna Europaea). See National Biodiversity Data Centre Map).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Azores, Balearic Is., Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corsica, Croatia, Danish mainland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Macedonia, Madeira, Republic of Moldova, Portuguese mainland, Russia - South, Sardinia, Sicily, Spanish mainland, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine. Also recorded in Near East, North Africa and Australian region (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Carpinus betulus, Castanea sativa, Fagus sylvatica, Ostrya carpinifolia, Quercus cerris, Quercus x crenata, Quercus ilex, Quercus petraea, Quercus robur, Quercus suber, Quercus x turneri

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Achrysocharoides splendens (Delucchi, 1954) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Asecodes delucchii (Boucek, 1971) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis laomedon (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Chrysocharis nephereus (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Cirrospilus elegantissimus Westwood, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus lyncus Walker, 1841 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Cirrospilus viticola (Rondani, 1877) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Sympiesis dolichogaster Ashmead, 1888 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Sympiesis gordius (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Coloneura stylata Förster, 1862 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Colastes braconius Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Exothecinae
Pholetesor circumscriptus (Nees, 1834) 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
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Last updated 11-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page