Phytomyza aconiti Hendel, 1920

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

detail
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).