Aconitum vulparia, Belgium, prov. Liège, Ovifat © Jonas Mortelmans

mine

Large, greyish-brown, upper-surface blotch, mostly near the tip of a leaflet, without a preceding corridor. Primary feeding lines conspicuous. Several larvae share a mine. Pupation outside the mine. Exit slit in upper epidermis (Pakalniškis, 2004a).

host plants

Ranunculaceae, oligophagous

Aconitum carmichaellii, lycoctonum subsp. neapolitanum, napellus, variegatum; Consolida ajacis; Delphinium elatum.

phenology

Larvae in May – June, and August – October (Hering, 1957a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Mortelmans ao, 2014).

NE recorded (de Meijere (1924a).

LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2008).

distribution within Europe

From Sweden to the Pyrenees, and from the UK to Poland and Czechia (Fauna Europaea, 2008); also Slovenia (Maček, 1999a) and Lithuania (Pakalniškis, 2004a).

larva

Described by de Meijere (1926a).

puparium

Greyish-brown, intersegmental constriction very shallow.

synonyms

Napomyza aconiti (Hendel); Phytomyza delphinii Frost, 1928.

notes

Although the species is said to be very common in the Netherlands by van Frankenhuyzen ao (1982a), I have never seen the species. De Meijere (1924a) knew the species from Amsterdam only. Because the mine can destroy an entire leaf it is considered a minor garden pest in the UK (Spencer, 1976a).

references

Ahr (1966a), Beuk (2002a), Eiseman & Lonsdale (2018a), van Frankenhuyzen, Houtman & Kabos (1982a), Haase (1942a), Hering (1925a, 1955b, 1957a, 1961a), Huber (1969a), Kabos (1971a), Maček (1999a), de Meijere (1924a, 1926a, 1939a), Mortelmans, Boeraeve, Tamsyn, Proesmans & Dekeukeleire (2014a), Pakalniškis (2004a), Robbins (1991a), Rydén (1926a), Sasakawa (1961a), Sønderup (1949a), Spencer (1954a, 1972a, 1976a), Starke (1942a), Starý (1930a), von Tschirnhaus (199a), Vála & Rohacek (1983a).