Scrobipalpa nitentella (Fuchs, 1902)

common sea groundling

Scrobipalpa nitentella mine

Atriplex portulacoides, South England © Rob Edmunds

Scrobipalpa nitentella mine

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), 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).