Leafmines: Bucculatrix thoracella

22 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, plants

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leaf-mining moth, leaf-mining moth larvae, British leafminers, Bucculatrix thoracella, leafmines on lime

I found these mines on Lime leaves a few weeks ago but they will still be visible on the yellowing leaves, just not occupied any more. The tiny white tick shape is distinctive, making it easy to identify these as the mines of the little brown and yellow moth Bucculatrix thoracella.

After the ‘tick’ has been formed, the moth larvae graze beneath the leaves, creating small bare areas known as feeding windows. When they moult, the larvae retreat to cocoons – one of the leafmining experts calls them ‘cocoonets’ (shown below), but their final cocoons can be found either in the leaf litter below the tree or on the Lime’s trunk. I’ve yet to find one of those.

Leafmines: Phyllonorycter platani

01 Monday Nov 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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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.

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.

Leafmines: Coleophora peribenanderi

18 Monday Oct 2021

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, plants

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British leafminers, British moths, case-bearing moths, Coleophora peribenanderi, leaf-mining larvae, leaf-mining moth, moth larvae on thistles, Pale Thistle case-bearer

Searching for leafmines on thistles is not for the faint-hearted, writes she with multi-punctured fingers. But it has been worth every drop of blood to find these mines (and I must be a masochist, as, having found them in one place, I then went determinedly searching in other locations – two successes so far, which I’m rather pleased about as there are very few records in south Wales).

211018 Coleophora peribenanderi (1)

The larvae of the moth Coleophora peribenanderi, also known as the Pale Thistle case-bearer (you can see the adult on UK Moths here), builds itself a tube-like case to live in and ventures out of said case to munch happily on the leaves of whichever species of thistle its mother laid her eggs on (in the three I’ve found so far, Creeping thistle). The marks this feeding makes on the plant’s leaves are quite distinctive but, to clinch the identification, you need to look under the leaf and find the case.

211018 Coleophora peribenanderi (2)

Interestingly, the larva feeds up for a couple of months, from July to September, then suspends its development (the scientific word is diapause, a new one for me) through the winter until either feeding up a bit more in April or passing straight to pupation in May. Fascinating stuff!

Leafmines: Stigmella plagicolella

04 Monday Oct 2021

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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)

Leafmines: Phyllonorycter coryli

13 Monday Sep 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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leaf-mining moth, leafmines, leafmines on Hazel, moth larvae in leaf mines, moth leafmines, Phyllonorycter coryli

For those of you who are new to leafmines, here’s one that’s appearing on leaves right about now, is common in Britain and easy to identify.

210913 phyllonorycter coryli (1)

These blisters on Hazel leaves are made by the larvae of the perfectly named Nut leaf blister moth (Phyllonorycter coryli) – you can see what the adult moth looks like on the UK Moths website. In fact, if you’re sharp-eyed, you may have noticed these blisters in July, as this little moth has two broods each year. You can get more details and see more images on the excellent British Leafminers website.

331/366 Leaf mines: Phyllonorycter leucographella

26 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, plants

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British moths, Firethorn leaf miner, leaf mines, leaf mines on Pyracantha, leaf-mining larvae, leaf-mining moth, leafminer, moth larvae, moth larvae in leaf mines, Phyllonorycter leucographella

I stumbled across these leaf mines by accident but I simply can’t resist including them … because the tiny striped larvae are so darn cute!

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (1)

These are the larvae of the moth Phyllonorycter leucographella, the adult of which is also rather striking – you can see photos of it on the UK Moths website here. As the website reports, this moth is a recent arrival to Britain, first spotted in Essex just 40 years ago, but for such a small creature – its wingspan is only 7-9mm – it’s managed to fly and settle far and wide, from Yorkshire in the north of England to Pembrokeshire in the west of Wales, and all points in between. This may partly be due to the fact that its larvae feed on many garden plants: I found an abundance of leaf mines on an orange-berried variety of Firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea), which explains why the moth’s common name is Firethorn leaf miner.

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (2)

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (3)

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (4)

201126 phyllonorycter leucographella (5)

As you can see from my pictures, the larval ‘mine’ is like a blister, centred over the midrib on the upper side of the leaf. The larva, which, with black blobs on a white body, is very distinctive, can often be seen through the membrane of the mine, especially when it’s feeding at the edge of the blister. You can read more about this leaf miner, its life cycle and preferred larval plants on the UK Fly Mines website here.

201126 pyracantha

327/365 Stigmella leaf mines

23 Saturday Nov 2019

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, leaves, nature

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bramble leaf mines, British leaf mines, British moths, Golden pigmy moth, leaf mines on brambles, leaf-mining moth, Stigmella aurella, stigmella species

Before the heavy rain came in yesterday I managed a quick local walk, part of which was to look at maple trees for the leaf mines of a tiny moth called Stigmella aceris, which has slowly been expanding its range in south Wales. I didn’t find any on the few trees I looked at, though I will continue to look and will report back here if I do manage to find any.

I decided to switch my focus on to another of the Stigmella moth species, Stigmella aurella, the Golden pigmy moth, which lives its larval life in mines burrowed in bramble leaves. Though you might never see the adult moth, you will undoubtedly be able to find its leaf mines as they are common and widespread throughout most of Britain, and I easily found several examples during my local meander. Now to find the maple-leaf-burrowing variety!