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

 

Stigmella basiguttella (Heinemann, 1862)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

Base-spotted Pigmy


Nepticula basiguttella Heinemann, 1862. Schmett. Deutschl. 2 (1): 199.
Stigmella cerricolella
Klimesch, 1946. Z. Wien. ent. Ges. 31: 160, fig'd.
Stigmella basiguttella
(Heinemann, 1862).


Leaf-miner: The gallery is long and sinuous, filled with greenish frass. The initial mine is greenish/brown and becomes more visible as it ages and goes browner (British leafminers).

Ovipostion close to a thick vein, mostly at the upper side. The mine is a long, slowly widening, slender corridor, with a characteristic sinuous course. Frass completely filling the corridor, in clear arcs, green when fresh, brown later. Fresh mines are almost concolorous with the leaf, and not very apparent (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).

The larva is green (British leafminers and 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:

Fagaceae        
Quercus       British leafminers
Quercus       Pitkin & Plant

Hosts elsewhere:

Fagaceae        
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Belgian Lepidoptera
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus       Belgian Lepidoptera
Quercus castaneifolia Chestnut-leaved Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus cerris Turkey Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus frainetto     Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus macrolepis     Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus petraea Sessile Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus pubescens Downy Oak   Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus pyrenaica Pyrenean Oak   Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Quercus rubra Red Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - larvae: June - July, September - October (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in Britain including Banffshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Elgin, Glamorgan, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Middlesex, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, South Aberdeenshire, South Wiltshire, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas). See also British leafminers distribution map.

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland (Fauna Europaea).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, French mainland, Germany, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Norwegian mainland, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Romania, Russia - Central, East and South, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spanish mainland, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. Also recorded in Near East and North Africa (Fauna Europaea).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Castanea sativa, Quercus castaneifolia, Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto, Quercus petraea, Quercus pubescens, Quercus pyrenaica, Quercus robur, Quercus rubra

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Cirrospilus vittatus Walker, 1838 Eulophidae: Eulophinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Adelius subfasciatus Haliday, 1833 Braconidae: Cheloninae
Centistes ater (Nees, 1834) Braconidae: Euphorinae


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 12-Jul-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page