Scrobipalpa nitentella (Fuchs, 1902)
common sea groundling
Atriplex portulacoides, South England © Rob Edmunds
Atriplex prostrata, Denmark (Ordrup Næs in NW Zealand), youth mines © Hans Henrik Bruun.
mine
Young larvae make a short, spiralled corridor (Bland ao, 2002a, describe them as “typically U-shaped”). This stage is followed by an irregular, sometimes branching, greenish-white blotch (Jansen, 1999a). In their finale stage the larva lives free in a silken tunnel among the leaves.
host plants
Amaranthaceae, oligophagous
Atriplex calotheca, hortensis, littoralis, praecox, prostrata; Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima; Chenopodium album; Halimione pedunculata, portulacoides; Salicornia europaea; Suaeda altissima, maritima.
phenology
Larvae are full-fed in mid-August – end-September; hibernation as pupa; one generation per year (Jansen, 1999a).
BENELUX
BE recorded (Phegea, 2009).
NE recorded (Kuchlein & de Vos, 1999a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2009).
LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2009).
distribution within Europe
From Fennoscandia to the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and Bulgaria, and from Ireland to South Russia (Fauna Europaea, 2009).
larva
pupa
Described by Patočka & Turčáni (2005a); but see below.
synonyms
Gnorimoschema nitentellum.
notes
Halophilous species.
According to Patočka & Turčáni (2005a) the larva is not a miner, but “feeds on the seed heads of Chenopodium”. This can be a simple mistake, but may also indicate a different interpretation of the species.
references
Bland, Corley, Emmet ao (2002a), Gerstberger (2003a), Huemer & Karsholt (2010a), Huemer & Morandini (2009a), Huisman & Koster (1996a), Jansen (1999a, 2002a, 2005a), Kaitila (1996a), Kasy (1965a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a), De Prins (2003b), Rickert (2010a, 2011a), Schütze (1931a), Wegner (2010a, 2o13a), Wegner, Kayser & van Loh (2007a).