Prunus cherry
incl. Amygdalus, Armeniaca, Cerasus, Padus, Persica.
(For a dichotomous table for galls on Prunus by Hans Roskam click here)Dichotomous table for leafminers
1a mine in fallen leaves: Neocoenorrhinus pauxillus
1b mine with an excision => 2
1c tentiform mine => 3
1d blotch without preceding corridor => 11
1e corridor from start to end => 18
1f corridor, widening into a blotch => 24
1g fleck mine => 28
1h galls, etc. => Tables for all parasites per species
Dichotomous table for leafminers
1a mine in fallen leaves: Neocoenorrhinus pauxillus
1b mine with an excision => 2
1c tentiform mine => 3
1d blotch without preceding corridor => 11
1e corridor from start to end => 18
1f corridor, widening into a blotch => 24
1g fleck mine => 28
1h galls, etc. => Tables for all parasites per species
2a larva with yellow-brown head; May-June: Incurvaria pectinea
2b larva with black head; July-August: Incurvaria oehlmanniella
3a mine upper-surface => 4
3b mine lower-surface => 5
4a mine silvery, epidermal, containing frass: Phyllonorycter corylifoliella
4b mine greenish, practically without frass: Coptotriche gaunacella
5a lower epidermis whitish, grey or brown; mine < 8 mm; older larva lives free => 6
5b lower epidermis green or yellow-green; mine > 12 mm; pupa in the mine => 7
6a mine elongated, inflated; lower epidermis grey, opaque, with several pleats; larva grey with black feet: Parornix finitimella
6b mine oval or rectangular, hardly inflated; lower epidermis whitish, transparant, not pleated; larva pale green with greenish feet: Parornix torquillella
7a on Prunus padus: Phyllonorycter sorbi
7b on other Prunus species => 8
7c (Prunus species can be exceptional hosts to the (very) rare Phyllonoryter cydoniella, mespilella, and messaniella; breeding is necessary to come to a definite identification in these cases.)
8a pupa: cremaster clearly longer than wide (rare, certainly on this host plant): Phyllonorycter cavella
8b cremaster shorter than wide => 9
9a pupa: cremaster with two pairs of spines, the inner pair not much smaller than the outer pair: Phyllonorycter sorbi
9b inner pair disticntly smaller than the outer one => 10
10a pupa: rear margin of cremaster weakly concave; sides of frontal appendage, seen from above, somewhat curved outwards; usually on Prunus spinosa: Phyllonorycter spinicolella
10b rear margin of cremaster straight to convex; sides of frontal appendage straight; generally on cultivated Prunus species: Phyllonorycter cerasicolella
11a oviposition site (mostly the leaf tip) covered by a shining black drop of hardened secretion: Trachys minutus
11b nu such drop => 12
12a mine full depth => 13
12b mine upper-surface => 16
13a mine < 10 mm => 14
13b mine larger => 15
14a spring mines: Yponomeuta evonymella
14b autumn mines: Scythropia crataegella
14c summer mines (young Incurvaria-mines) => 2
15a in the same or a neighbouring leaf slender corridors stuffed with reddish brown frass; mine mostly in young leaves, along the leaf margin: Lyonetia prunifoliella
15b no corridors nearby; mine in older leaves, in the centre of the blade: Pseudoswammerdamia combinella
16a mine ca. 5 mm, brown, often in number; frass in a thick plug: Rhamphus oxyacanthae
16b mine larger, not brown; frass different => 17
17a blotch with a dark centre; frass in concentric circles: Leucoptera malifoliella
17b mine silvery, epidermal, often beginning as a narrow white line overlying a vein, becoming broader in due course: Phyllonorycter corylifoliella (young mine)
18a mine begins near a globular, shining egg shell => 19
18b no egg shell visible => 21
19a corridor runs in a number of closed loops around the egg, ‘intestine-like’; frass green when fresh, turning grey later: Stigmella prunetorum
19b corridor in loose loops, not intestine-like; frass brown or black => 20
20a frass partly coiled: Stigmella oxyacanthella
20b frass nowhere coiled: Stigmella malella
21a mijn > 3 cm, very slender; frass in a narrow central line; larva chamber more than 3 times as long as wide => 22
21b mine shorter; frass sometimes absent; larva chamber indistinct => 23
22a frass brown; on the same or neighbouring leaf blotches that are (almost) free of frass; rare species: Lyonetia prunifoliella
22b frass black; no blotches around; common species: Lyonetia clerkella
23a mine narrow, branched, without frass: Recurvaria nanella
23b mine relatively broad, unbranched, containing frass: Paraswammerdamia albicapitella
24a most frass is ejected from the blotch; some grains are trapped in spinning under the leaf; no egg shell visible at start of the mine: Lyonetia prunifoliella
24b all frass remains in the blotch; corridor begins at a shining egg shell => 25
25a corridor part contorted; larva whitish => 26
25b corridor not contorted; larva yellow or green => 27
26a mine quite small; corridor very strongly contorted; on Prunus spinosa & domestica: Ectoedemia spinosella
26b mine not exceptionally small; corridor somewhat contorted; on Prunus avium & mahaleb: Ectoedemia atricollis
27a mines ends in a primary blotch; mainly on Prunus spinosa & domestica: Stigmella plagicolella
27b mine ends in a secondary blotch; mainly on Malus, rarely on Prunus avium & cerasus: Stigmella malella
28a tubular silken case: Coleophora trigeminella
28b pistol case: Coleophora anatipenella
28c lobe case => 29
28d leaf case => 30
29a lobes cut from the upper epidermmis; case brown: Coleophora violacea
29b lobes cut from the lower epidermis; case generally whitish: Coleophora potentillae
30a case > 8 mm: Coleophora hemerobiella
30b case smaller: juvenile cases of Coleophora hemerobiella, and C. coracipennella, prunifoliae, spinella
Not included in the key: Bucculatrix bechsteinella; Callisto insperatella; Coleophora adjectella, ahenella, currucipennella, serratella; Ectoedemia mahalebella; Parornix anguliferella, atripalpella.petiolella, szocsi; Phyllonorycter anceps, blancardella, hostis, laurocerasi; Stigmella amygdali, perpygmaeella.