Plant Parasites of Europe

leafminers, galls and fungi

Rubus

Rubus bramble

(For a dichotomous table for galls on Rubus by Hans Roskam click here)

Dichotomous table for leafminers

1a more or less widened corridor => 2

1b small blotch with a violin-shaped excision of ca. 2 mm: Incurvaria praelatella

1c opaque blotch with finely wrinkled epidermis; mine without frass => 8

1d transparant blotch with smooth epidermis and ample frass => 9

1e fleck mine => 10

1f galls, etc => Tables for all parasites per species

2a corridor upper-surface; no egg shell at the begin; larva a maggot => 3

2b corridor full depth; at start of the corridor a shining egg shell visible; larva with chitinised head => 4

3a in the first part of the mine frass in two rows of grains; larva: rear spiraculum with 3 papillae: Agromyza idaeiana

3b frass almost filling the first part of the mine; rear spiraculum with 6 papillae: Agromyza sulfuriceps

4a last stretch of the corridor strongly widened or forming a secondary blotch => 5

4b corridor narrow from start to end => 6

5a first part of the corridor strongly contorted; final part strongly widened, not forming a secondary blotch: Ectoedemia rubivora

5b first part of corridor not contorted, following a vein; final part forming a secondary blotch (not in the Benelux): Ectoedemia erythrogonella

6a mine maximally 3 cm; first part narrow, following a vein or the leaf margin; second half clearly broader; very rare species: Stigmella poterii

6b mine > 3 cm => 7

7a corridor long and slender, regularly crossing itself; fraas line very thin; larva: pronotum without a spinulose field; no living larvae in the period December-April: Stigmella splendidissimella

7b corridor less long and slender, rarely crossing itself; frass line wider; larva: rear margin of pronotum with a finely spinulose band; living larvae also in December-April: Stigmella aurella

8a mine 3-4 cm, whitish to pale brown, completely opaque, finally contracted: Coptotriche marginea

8b mine larger, pale green, less opaque, hardly contracted: Coptotriche heinemanni

9a larva: 1st abdominal segment ventrally with a brown spot; on all sorts of Bramble: Metallus pumilus

9b no spot here; on Rubus idaeus: Metallus albipes

10a larva feeds at the upperside of the leaf: Coleophora violacea

10b larva feeds at the underside => 11

11a on Rubus chamaemorus: Coleophora plumbella

11b on all Rubus species: Coleophora potentillae

Not included in the key: Cnephasia asseclana; Coleophora ahenella, gryphipennella, plumbella; Coptotriche longiciliatella; Incurvaria oehlmanniella; Spialia sertorius; Stigmella auromarginella, pretiosa; Tinagma perdicella.

Tables for all parasites per species

Last modified 17.xi.2020