Leafmines: Stigmella trimaculella

21 Monday Oct 2024

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British leafminers, leaf-mining moth larvae, leaf-mining moths, leafminers, leafmines on Poplar, Stigmella trimaculella

My leaf-mining contacts on X/Twitter and now on Bluesky were posting their lovely images of a mine on Poplar leaves that I hadn’t seen before so, of course, I went looking. These photos (and many more) are the result.

241021 stigmella trimaculella (1)

Though the UK Moths website information on their distribution states that this moth can be found ‘throughout England, where it is fairly common except in the west’ and that ‘there are records from Scotland and Wales, but very few’, there are, in fact, over a hundred Welsh records and they are scattered throughout the country.

241021 stigmella trimaculella (2)

This is Stigmella trimaculella (I love its common name: Three-spot dot), whose larvae munch on the leaves of Populus species – that’s all the various types of Poplar, as well as Aspen. The mine starts out as a thin gallery, widening as the larva grows in size, eventually becoming a silvery blotch. As you can see in the photo below left, the larva is a greenish-yellow in colour and has a brown head. The mines can be found twice each year, between June and July and again from September to October.

241021 stigmella trimaculella (3)

L is for leafminers

17 Sunday Dec 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, plants, trees

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British leafminers, leaf-mining fly larvae, leaf-mining moth larvae, leafminers, leafmines, leafmines on plants, leafmines on trees

As a result of standing staring for hours at leaves, I’ve found lots and lots of lovely new-to-me leafminers this year. Here’s a summary of those I’ve blogged about:

On 13 February, Leafmines: Phyllonorycter ulicicolella covered the tricky-to-find mines of tiny moth larvae on gorse. In Leafmines: Eriocrania unimaculella, 22 May, the larvae of a different moth were mining Birch leaves, and, on 26 June, Leafmines: Mompha terminella, featured more moth larvae mines, this time on Enchanter’s nightshade. In October the moth miners were munching on Hawthorn leaves (Leafmines: Bucculatrix bechsteinella, 2 October) and on Blackthorn (Leafmines: Lyonetia prunifoliella, 9 October). The only new non-moth miner of the year was a fly whose larvae were found mining the leaves of Alder (Leafmines: Agromyza alnivora, 16 October) and, later in October, we were back to moth miners, with Hawthorn once again the plant of choice (Leafmines: Phyllonorycter corylifoliella, 23 October). In November, a willow moth miner I’d mentioned once before in passing starred in its very own blog (Leafmines: Phyllonorycter viminiella, 20 November) and, a week later, on 27 November, another moth larva was found on the leaves of a rose species (Leafmines: Stigmella anomalella). The final leafminer find of 2023 was yet another moth, this time devouring the leaves of Wild privet (Leafmines: Gracillaria syringella, 4 December).

231217 leafmines

I’ve already referenced the three case-bearing moth larvae leafminers in an earlier countdown blog (C is for Coleophora) but, just for completeness, I’ll also link to them here: Leafmines: Coleophora lutipennella on 1 May, Leafmines: Coleophora serratella on 15 May, and Leafmines: Coleophora gryphipennella on 13 November.

Leafmines: Stigmella anomalella

27 Monday Nov 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, plants

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British leafminers, Dog rose, leaf-mining moth larvae, leaf-mining moths, leafminers, moth leafmines on Dog rose, Stigmella anomalella

This particular Dog rose (Rosa canina) was generous with its leafminers. Not only did I see the feeding signs and case-bearing larva of Coleophora gryphipennella (see my 13 November blog post) but I also found my first leafmines of Stigmella anomalella, also known appropriately enough as the Rose leaf miner (there are photos of the adult moth on the UK Moths website).

231127 Stigmella anomalella

As you can see, the larvae create long meandering galleries that are initially narrow and completely filled with frass, then later widen to show clear space on either side of the line of frass. The British Leafminers website notes that the gallery often ‘crosses back over itself’ as my image shows – well, actually, it’s crossing back under itself, but you get the idea. I was also lucky to spot larvae in mines on two of the leaves I looked at. These mines can be found around July and then again between October and December, so check out those Dog rose leaves before they all fall.

231127 Stigmella anomalella (2)

Leafmines: Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

23 Monday Oct 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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Hawthorn, Hawthorn midget, leaf-mining moths, leafminers, leafmines on Hawthorn, moth larvae on Hawthorn, Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

I thought I’d already shared this leafmine but it seems not so say hello to the Hawthorn midget (Phyllonorycter corylifoliella), a very attractive chestnut –and-white moth, which can be viewed on the UK Moths website and whose larvae mine the leaves of various Rosaceous trees and shrubs. As you can probably see, the mines I’ve found have been on Hawthorn (Crataegus species) but they also mine Apple (Malus sp.) and Cherry (Prunus sp.)

231023 Phyllonorycter corylifoliella (1)

The mines, which are found on the upperside of the leaves, look almost silvery and contains strings of brown frass, can be found in July, and again in September –October. The adult moths are active in May and August, though I’ve not seen one yet.

231023 Phyllonorycter corylifoliella (2)

Leafmines: Stigmella obliquella

28 Monday Nov 2022

Posted by sconzani in leaves, trees

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leaf-mining moth larvae, leaf-mining moths, leafminers, leafmines on willow, moth leafmines, Stigmella obliquella, Willow pygmy, Willow pygmy larval leafmines

As part of my continuing search for the leafmines of the moth Phyllocnistis saligna, I spent part of a recent walk checking the narrow-leaved willows in a Cardiff Park. Though most of the leaves had already fallen, I noticed a lot of leaves with ‘green islands‘, a likely sign of a leafminer but probably not the one I was looking for and, indeed, not one I was familiar with. I took some photos and posted a selection that evening on Twitter.

221128 Stigmella obliquella (1)

Leafminerman Rob Edmunds, of the superb British Leafminers website, quickly identified them as the ‘very variable’ work of the larvae of the moth Stigmella obliquella, also known as the Willow pygmy, a rather cute micro moth with an orange top knot. You can find out more about the leafmines on the British Leafminers website, and see the adult moth on the UK Moths website; just click on the links.

221128 Stigmella obliquella (2)

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: Profenusa pygmaea

30 Monday Aug 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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British leaf mines, British sawflies, leaf mines on Oak, leafminers, Oak leafmines, Profenusa pygmaea, sawfly leafmines

Believe it or not, #LeafmineMonday is a thing on Twitter, and last Monday I read with interest this tweet, with photos, posted by Rob Edmunds (@leafminerman, one of the people behind the excellent British Leafmines website):

a sawfly mine which is fairly easy to find, made by Profenusa pygmaea. Look for brown blotches on Oak leaves but with a wriggling start as shown in the photo … Initial mines are whitish but then fade to brown.

210830 profenusa pygmaea leafmine (1)

Profenusa pygmaea is a species of sawfly – you can read more about it and see photos of the adult on the Sawflies of Britain and Ireland website. As I’m often to be found checking out Oak leaves and there were no records for this particular sawfly in my local area, of course I had to go looking, and I’ve now found these leafmines in two separate locations. I’m guessing it’s yet another under-recorded species so if you spot it in your area, do please record it.

Leafmines: on Teasel, 2

27 Tuesday Jul 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants

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British leaf mines, Chromatomyia ramosa, leaf mines, leaf mines on Teasel, leaf-mining fly larvae, leafminers

Another day, another leafmine on Teasel. This is not what I’d planned to blog about today but, by sheer coincidence, I discovered this new-to-me leafmine during yesterday’s walk so thought I’d share. And, in fact, once I had the national expert check my identification, he also confirmed that this is the first record of these mines in south Wales.

210727 Chromatomyia ramosa (1)

The larvae of the tiny fly Chromatomyia ramosa are responsible for these mines, feeding both on Teasel and on the various Scabious plant species. As you can see in my photos, the larvae feed along the midrib of the leaf and also in short galleries leading off from the midrib. Though under-recorded, this fly is thought to be widespread in Britain, so I’ll certainly be on the look out for more of its leafmines.

Leafmines: on Teasel

26 Monday Jul 2021

Posted by sconzani in plants

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Agromyza dipsaci, British leaf mines, fly mines on Teasel, leaf mines, leaf-mining fly larvae, leafminers, Teasel

I wasn’t aware of any leafmines on Teasel until I saw a post on Twitter on 23 June by @leafminerman Rob Edmunds. Since then, I’ve been checking the newly sprouted leaves of Teasel whenever I see them. And, finally, on Friday I spotted some mines on a small group of Teasel plants at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

These are the mines of the fly Agromyza dipsaci, another tiny creature I’ll probably never see but I know it’s around from seeing its larval home. The mines appear in early summer once the Teasel leaves start growing, the blotch usually starting at the edge of the leaf and broadening as the larva consumes more and grows. Its large grains of frass can often be seen inside the mine, as shown in the photo on the right above.

210726 Agromyza dipsaci (3)

The British leafminers website reports that this is an uncommon miner in the UK so I thought I’d check the records. Sure enough, there are only four Welsh records showing in Aderyn, the country’s biodiversity database – five when my record is included, and only seventeen records (including the four Welsh ones) on the NBN Atlas, the British database. It may be, though, that like many invertebrate species, this little fly is under-recorded. So, if you spot these mines on Teasel near you, please make sure to record your sightings.

210726 Agromyza dipsaci (4)

Leaf mine: Chromatomyia primulae

18 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants, wildflowers

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Chromatomyia primulae, leaf mine on Primrose, leaf mines, leaf-mining fly, leaf-mining fly larvae, leaf-mining larvae, leafminers, primrose

I was feeling a little miffed that my walk plans have been stymied by a slippery sided stream that I didn’t fancy trying to jump and was retracing my steps when I spotted this flowering Primrose (Primula vulgaris) – and it made my day, partly because I love these buttery yellow flowers, but also because of the mines on its leaves, a new species for me.

210218 Chromatomyia primulae (1)

These are the mines of a tiny fly, Chromatomyia primulae, whose larvae also mine the leaves of Cowslip (Primula veris). I couldn’t see any larvae in the mines, which concurs with the information on the British Leafminers website that says the larvae are active in January, and then again from June to November. If I’d known, I could’ve looked for any pupae, which apparently lodge themselves in the mine next to a leaf vein. I might have to go back for a closer look.

Very few of these mines have been recorded in south Wales – only 1 record in each of the 1km-squares around me – though that is probably because they are under-recorded. And that may be the same in other parts of Britain, so do please record any you see. You can read more about these leaf miners on the British Leafminers site referenced above and on the UK Fly mines website here.