Artemisia vulgaris, Diemen, ‘t Twiske: the whitish larva in the mine

mine

Little widening upper-surface corridor, up to 8 cm long; sometimes the first part lower-surface. Often the corridor follows a vein or the leaf margin for some distance. The sides are initially quite smooth, later they may be more irregular. Primary feeding lines often visible. Frass in pearl chains and isolated grains, in two neat rows – closely resembling the frass pattern of Liriomyza‘s. The whitish larva leaves the mine before pupation; exit slit in upper epidermis.

host plants

Asteraceae, monophagous

Artemisia absinthiunm, dracunculus, verlotiorum, vulgaris.

phenology

Larvae in May – July and August – September (Hering, 1957a).

BENELUX

BE Recorded (Scheirs ao, 1994a).

NE Over twenty records.

LUX Not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2008).

distribution within Europe

From Scandinavia and Finland to the Pyrenees, Italy and Bulgaria, and from the UK to Lithuania and Poland (Fauna Europaea, 2008).

larva

puparium

synonyms

Phytomyza albiceps: auct. (incl. de Meijere, Hering).

notes

Probably a quite common species, but only the larva enables a certain discrimination from Liriomyza artemisicola and L. demeijerei. Because the larvae are short-living this is no easy matter.

references

(mostly as “albiceps”):

Ahr (1966a), Beiger (1970a, 1978a, 1979a), Bland (1994c), Buhr (1932a), Černý (2001a), Černý & Merz (2007a), Černý, Vála & Barták (2001a), Drăghia (1967a), Dreger & Myssura (2005a), Hering (1930b, 1932a, g, 1955b, 1957a), Huber (1969a), de Meijere (1924a, 1926a), Michalska (1970a, 1972a, 1976a, 2003a), Ostrauskas, Pakalniškis & Taluntytė (2003a), Pakalniškis (1982b), Robbins (1991a), Rösch & Schmitz (2014a), Sasakawa (1961a), Scheirs ao (1994a), Spencer (1971a, 1972a, 1976a), Starý (1930a), von Tschirnhaus (1999a).