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: 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.

356/366 Leaf mines: Euleia heraclei

21 Monday Dec 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, plants

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Alexanders, Alexanders plants, British leaf mines, Celery fly, Celery leaf fly, Euleia heraclei, leaf mines, leaf-mining fly larvae, leafminers

Finally, a leaf mine where I’ve actually seen the adult – in this case, a fly rather than a moth – and not the specific adult that laid the eggs that hatched into the larvae that made these particular leaf mines, but rather adult flies seen on other occasions. And very pretty little flies they are too!

201221 Euleia heraclei (1)

These are Euleia heraclei, also known as Celery flies or Celery leaf flies because one of the plants their larvae feed on is Celery. Other plants include Parsley, Hogweed, Angelica, Lovage, Wild parsnip and, the plant I found these leaf mines on, Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum). In the photos below, the fly on the left is the male, the one on the right the female.

According to the Nature Spot website, the adult flies are usually seen between April and November, and the British Leafminers website says that the larval mines can be seen throughout summer and into early autumn, though one of my photos below was taken as recently as 27 November and the larva is clearly visible so perhaps they have a longer season when the weather conditions are mild.

322/366 Leaf mines: Phytomyza agromyzina

17 Tuesday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, insects, leaves, plants

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Cornus sanguinea, Dogwood, fly leaf mines, leaf mines, leaf mines on Dogwood, leaf-mining fly larvae, leaf-mining larvae, leafminers, Phytomyza agromyzidae

So far, in my recent posts on leaf mines, I’ve only covered a few of the many micro moths whose larvae make mines in leaves. But many fly species also inhabit leaves in their larval stage, and today’s post is about one of those, Phytomyza agromyzina.

201117 Phytomyza agromyzina (1)

You will probably never see the tiny adult fly (and, in fact, I haven’t even been able to find an illustration of one online, though this Wiki page shows an example of one member of the Agromyzidae fly family, which will give you a general idea.) but, anytime between July and November, you should be able to find its larvae’s leaf mines, as it’s probably widespread in Britain (though under-recorded, so if you do find some, please record your sighting).

The mines I’ve found have all been on the leaves of Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea), though it is known to mine other species of Cornus. They’re gallery mines (i.e. forming corridors), long and meandering through the upper side of the leaf surface, and almost completely filled with frass (i.e. poo).

201117 Phytomyza agromyzina (4)

The UK Fly Mines website provides more detailed information on this, and the many other types of leaf mines you can find in Britain.

Leaf mine in Hart’s tongue

16 Tuesday Jan 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature, plants

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Agromyzidae, Chromatomyia scolopendri, Hart's tongue, leaf mine on Hart's tongue, leafminers, leafmines

After my recent introductory post on leafminers, I thought I’d get the ball rolling with an example of a leaf mine I have actually been able to identify, as, fortunately for me, it is the only creature that creates a linear mine on the leaves of Hart’s tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium). The mines in my photographs were created by the larvae of a tiny fly, Chromatomyia scolopendri.

180116 Chromatomyia scolopendri (1)

As you can see, the larvae tends to mine along the midrib of the leaf but occasionally veers out towards the exterior before doubling back again. The mine is narrow and can be up to 10cms long, though I didn’t actually measure these ones. The larvae can be active any time from early spring through to autumn and they usually pupate in these mines.

180116 Chromatomyia scolopendri (2)

I found the mines on Christmas Eve, when I was on holiday in Somerset – they were at Ham Hill Country Park, near Yeovil. I’m not sure how common the little Chromatomyia scolopendri fly is, as there are 72 records showing in the Welsh Aderyn biodiversity database but only 38 records for the whole of Britain in the NBN Atlas (so where are all the Welsh records?). It’s also likely that leaf mines are under-recorded so the species may well be more common than these records suggest. Now that I know what to look for, I’ll be keeping an eye out for this one on my walks around south Wales.