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 samiatella (Zeller, 1839)
[Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae]

Chestnut Pigmy


Lyonetia samiatella Zeller, 1839. Isis.: 215.
Stigmella samiatella
(Zeller, 1839).


Leaf-miner: The gallery is long and broad, frass dispersed in later part of mine (British leafminers).

Oviposition on the leaf underside, almost always close to a thick vein. Mine a fairly long, rather slender corridor. Frass in a broad, often interrupted central band; locally it may be in coiled (Bladmineerders van Europa).

It is recommended that you try to rear out the adults to be certain of their identity.

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Fagaceae        
Castanea       British leafminers
Castanea sativa Sweet Chestnut British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Pitkin & Plant
Quercus       British leafminers
Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. 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 pedunculiflora     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 robur Pedunculate 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: June and from July to August (UKMoths).

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread in England including Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire. Denbighshire, Dorset, East Kent, East Norfolk, East Suffolk, Hertforsdhire, Huntingdonshire, Isle of Wight, Leicestershire, Middlesex, North Essex, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Radnorshire, Shropshire, South Essex, South Hampshire, South Somerset, Stafford, West Kent, West Norfolk, West Suffolk and Worcestershire (NBN Atlas).

See also British leafminers distribution map.

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Castanea sativa, Quercus castaneifolia, Quercus cerris, Quercus frainetto, Quercus pedunculiflora, Quercus petraea, Quercus pubescens, Quercus robur

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea  
Chrysocharis prodice (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Derostenus gemmeus Westwood, 1840 Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Derostenus punctiscuta Thomson, 1878 Eulophidae: Entedoninae


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 28-Jun-2019  Brian Pitkin Top of page