Syrphus hoverfly larvae

06 Saturday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, leaves, trees

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British hoverflies, hoverfly larva, hoverfly larva on Sycamore, insects on Sycamore, sycamore, Syrphus sp larvae, Syrphus species

We’ve seen the Godzilla of hoverfly larvae, one of the Dasysyrphus species, and, back in February 2020, I featured my very first hoverfly larva, one of the Platycheirus family, and then in September we saw the larva and adult of Scaeva pyrastri. However, I haven’t yet shown you the larvae I see most often, those of the Syrphus species of hoverfly.

211106 syrphus sp (1)

I usually find these on Sycamore leaves, the undersides of which are home to thriving families of aphids, the hoverfly larvae’s favourite food. Occasionally, I’ve found larvae on the tops of leaves or on branches, perhaps on the move to a new leaf. And yesterday, on Twitter, I saw a short video by my go-to hoverfly larvae expert on the various species of hoverfly larvae he had found on gravestones under Sycamore trees in his local cemetery. I’ll be checking out that idea during one of next week’s nature walks. Meantime, try turning over some Sycamore leaves – you never know what might be lurking underneath.

Dasineura fraxini galls

03 Wednesday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Ash tree galls, Dasineura fraxini, gall causing midge, gall midges, galls, galls made by midges, galls on Ash leaves, midge gall

One of the benefits of checking the leaves of various trees, and other plants, for leafmines is that, even when I don’t find them, I do find other things just as interesting, and this is one of those. I didn’t know what it was, of course, until I got home and checked my Field Studies Council Guide to plant galls in Britain fold-out guide. (If you’re not familiar with these, check the FSC online shop here. I have a few of these and find them really useful.)

My guide informed me that these galls on the leaves of Ash trees were created by the larvae of Dasineura fraxini, a species of tiny midge. Few people have ever seen the adult midge but I did have a look at one of the galls that was partly open and spotted one of the miniscule orange larvae. These galls can be found from May through to October, at which time the leaves will fall to the ground, where the larvae will pupate and over-winter until emerging as adult midges in the springtime.

211103 Dasineura fraxini (3)

Leafmines: Phyllonorycter platani

01 Monday Nov 2021

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British leafmines, leaf mines, leaf-mining moth, leaf-mining moth larvae, leafmines on Plane trees, Phyllonorycter platani, Plane trees

Another #LeafmineMonday, another new leafmine discovery – new to me, that is, not to science or Wales.

Top of leaf on the left; underside on the right

This is another mine that’s created by the larva of a moth, the rather handsome micro moth Phyllonorycter platani, whose larvae feed on the leaves of Plane trees. This moth only appeared in Britain 30 years ago – as it can be found in many countries around the globe, it’s not possible to say where it came from or how it got to London but, since 1989, it has colonised much of southern Britain. Of course, no one knows how it’s managed that either, though I did read some speculation on Twitter that, as the first Cardiff records were noted very near the main car and coach parks, the moths could well have hitched a ride on passing vehicles. As I’ve sometimes seen small moths on trains, I can quite believe that possibility.

Dothidella ulmi

29 Friday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in fungi, leaves, nature, trees

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British fungi, Dothidella ulmi, fungi on Wych elm, spots on Wych elm leaves, Wych elm

Fungi come in an amazing variety of forms and colours. Here’s one I found for the first time a week or so ago.

211029 Dothidella ulmi (1)

You’re probably familiar with Sycamore tarspot (Rhytisma acerinum), which makes black spots on the leaves of Sycamore trees. Well, this is superficially similar, though not as widely recorded in Britain: it’s Dothidella ulmi, a fungus that develops under the epidermis of leaves on Elm trees, in this case Wych elm, then erupts in a mass of grey blisters.

211029 Dothidella ulmi (2)

Leafmines: Coleophora badiipennella

25 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Case-bearing moth, Coleophora badiipennella, leaf-mining moth, leafminer, leafmines on Wych elm, Pale elm case-bearer

This might not look like much but I’ve been looking for one of these for perhaps a year, at least during the months when it was around to be found. And if I hadn’t been looking closely at the leaves of this Wych elm, I could so easily have missed it. These are the leafmine and the case of Coleophora badiipennella, the Pale Elm Case-bearer (click on the link here to see the adult moth on the UK Moths website).

According to the British Leafminers website, the larva:

initially forms a gallery along the midrib, which then goes out along a vein (see photo). The end of this gallery is then excised to construct the first case. It then feeds close to this and makes several small mines …

211025 coleophora badiipennalla (2)

If you look at my photo above, you can see where the larva has made a second mine below the first – you can see the tiny hole where it would have attached itself – before moving to the third mine where it was then feeding. I haven’t been able to find much information about pupation but I presume the larva remains in its case, falls to the ground either still attached to its leaf when the leaf falls or after detaching itself, and over-winters on the ground. It seems many of these leafminers are not very well studied … yet.

Zorro comes to Wales

21 Thursday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Aproceros leucopoda, British sawflies, Elm zigzag sawfly, sawfly feeding marks on elm leaves, sawfly on Wych elm

‘Yes it’s definitely Zorro’, confirmed Andy, a county sawfly recorder, when he took a look at these photos on Twitter on Tuesday. Andy was not, of course, referring to the legendary fictional character of book, television series and movie, but to the creature that created, in the leaves of Wych elm, these characteristic feeding marks that resemble the trademark ‘Z’ signature the big screen version of Zorro left at the scene of his adventures.

211021 elm zigzag sawfly (1)

Zorro, in this case, is the Elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda) and my photos are the first records for this species in Wales. The find is a double-edged sword (see what I did there?), as this sawfly is considered an invasive species, though I am assured by those who have been following its spread in England that the damage it does is not as considerable as first feared. I hope to spot the larvae that do this damage sometime next year.

Autumn: red

10 Sunday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, leaves, trees

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autumn colour, autumn leaves, red autumn leaves, red leaves

211010 red leaves (1)

‘I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.’
~ L.M. Montgomery

Leafmines: Stigmella plagicolella

04 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves

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British leaf mines, leaf-mining larvae, leaf-mining moth, leaf-mining moth larvae, leafminers, leafmines on Blackthorn, Stigmella plagicolella

Rob Edmunds, one of the people behind the British Leafminers website, labelled these leafmines ‘tadpoles’ and, as you can see, it’s a very apt description. They are also tiny, as these mines appear on Blackthorn or Sloe (Prunus spinosa), the leaves of which are only 2 – 4cms long.

211004 Stigmella plagicolella (1)

The adults of the moth Stigmella plagicolella, also known as the Scrubland Pigmy, are active twice each year, firstly in May and June, and then again in August, so their larval mines can be seen soon after those periods, in July and then again during September and October. So, this is a mine to look out for when all you gin drinkers out there are collecting the fruit to make Sloe gin.

Leafmines: Acrocercops brongniardella

20 Monday Sep 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Acrocercops brongniardella, British leafminers, Holm oak, leaf-mining moth, leafmines, leafmines on Oak

Another Monday, another leaf-mining moth. This one goes by the tongue-twisting name of Acrocercops brongniardella and can be found on the leaves of Oak trees, mostly in southern parts of England, Wales and Ireland. The adult moth is a very smart-looking creature (see the photos on the UK Moths website).

210920 acrocercops brongniardella (1)

Fortunately, the larval leafmines are fairly easy to identify as they begin with a distinctive twist before broadening to a large blotch or blister.

210920 acrocercops brongniardella (2)

I found my very first Acrocercops brongniardella mines in a small area of woodland on 6 September and have since found more on a tree in a local park, both times on the evergreen Holm oak (Quercus ilex) and the latter rather abundant on leaves at the tips of lower branches. The mines can supposedly be found on all oak species, though I’ve failed to find them in the other local woodlands where I’ve recently been walking and there are not a lot of records for this species of Wales. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more.

210920 acrocercops brongniardella (3)

Bizarre larvae

18 Saturday Sep 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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British sawflies, holes in Alder leaves, Platycampus luridiventris, sawfly larvae, sawfly larvae on Alder

I don’t know about you but when I see a leaf with holes in it, I feel a compulsion to turn over that leaf to try to determine what caused those holes. And that’s how I discovered today’s rather bizarre-looking creature.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (2)

And once I realised that the holes it made were smaller than many of the other holes in the surrounding leaves, I looked for other leaves with similar sized holes. And so I found several more.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (1)

And then I looked at other Alder trees in the same park, and I found even more.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (3)

It took a bit of googling when I got home but I eventually found a name for my mystery creatures, and that identification has now been confirmed by a national expert. These are the larvae of a sawfly called Platycampus luridiventris, a rather non-descript fly when you consider the larva it develops from. You can see that adult fly and read the scientific information about this species on The Sawflies (Symphyta) of Britain and Ireland website.

210918 Sawfly Platycampus luridiventris (4)