Cerodontha suturalis (Hendel, 1931)

on Bolboschoenus, Carex

Carex arenaria, Zandvoort

a single leaf

mine

Upper-surface, interparenchymatous (therefore yellowish) corridor in the middle part of the leaf. The mine starts not far from the leaf tip, descends, and changes direction at least twice. Often in the end the corridor occupies the entire width of the leaf. Larva solitary. Frass in one big lump. Pupation inside the mine. The puparium is glued with frass to both the ceiling and the floor of the mine, parallel to the leaf nervature.

host plants

Cyperaceae monophagous ?

Carex arenaria, hirta; Bolboschoenus maritimus.

phenology

Larvae in June-August (Nowakowski, 1973a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Scheirs, De Bruyn & von Tschirnhaus, 1996a).

NE recorded (Ellis: Zandvoort, 2002).

LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea. 2007).

distribution within Europe

From the UK to Lithuania and Hungary; also in Bulgaria (Fauna Europaea. 2007).

larva

Rear spiraculum with 3 elongated papillae; two of them are curved around the base of the spiraculum (Nowakowski, 1973a).

puparium

Shining chestnut brown with ventrally and dorsally a broad diffuse brown black length zone; intersegmental constrictions rather deep (Nowakowski, 1973a).

notes

Member of the subgenus Dizygomyza (Nowakowski, 1973a).

Many references to Cerodontha morosa (Meigen), stemming from before the publication of Nowakowski’s monograph, refer in fact to C. suturalis.

Robbins (1991a) also mentions Carex paniculata and sylvatica as host plant. Also because Nowakowski finds a preference in suturalis for warm and dry situations, this does not seem to be very plausible. That, however, is contradicted by the fact that the species also lives on the helophyte Bolboschoenus maritimus, as was confirmed by Warrington.

The fly leaves the mine either through an elongated cut precisely in the leaf margin, or a J-shaped cut that connects to the leaf margin.

references

Černý (2001a, 2009a, 2010a, 2011a), Černý, Andrade, Gonçalves & von Tschirnhaus (2018a), Černý, Barták & Vaněk (2009a), Černý & Merz (2006a), Černý & Vála (1996a, 1999a, 2006a), Dursun, Civelek, Barták ao (2015a), Nowakowski (1973a), Ostrauskas, Pakalniškis & Taluntytė (2003a), Pakalniškis (1995a), Papp & Černý (2016a), Scheirs, De Bruyn & von Tschirnhaus (1996a), Robbins (1991a), Spencer (1971a, 1972a, 1976a), Vála & Rohacek (1983a), von Tschirnhaus (1999a), Warrington (2018c), Zlobin (1983b).