Scrobipalpula diffluella (Frey, 1870)

essex groundling

mine

The mine is linear at first, a blotch later. Pupation external. Contrary to S. psilella, the larva does not mine from a silken tube.

host plants

Asteraceae, oligophagous

Aster alpinus, amellus; Bellidiastrum michelii; Erigeron acris & subsp. politus, uniflorus; Homogyne alpina.

Hering (1957a) cites “Gnorimoschema cacuminum” as a miner on Gnaphalium and Leontopodium. It is not quite certain that indeed this refers to diffluella.

phenology

Larvae in June (Huemer & Karsholt, 2010a).

BENELUX

not known from the Benelux countries (Fauna Europaea, 2009).

distribution within Europe

From Fennoscandia to the Pyrenees and Italy, and from Britain to Poland and Serbia; species of high mountain areas (Beiger, 1979b; Fauna Europaea, 2009).

larva

Light green, head light brown (Klimesch, 1951b).

synonyms

Gnorimoschema diffluellum; Scrobipalpula cacuminum (Frey, 1870) is technically a synonym of diffluella, but has often been confused with Scrobipalpa murinella (see Huemer & Karsholt, 2010a).

Gnorimoschema uniflorellum, attributed by Hering (1957a) to Klimesch, and associated by him with Erigeron and Homogyna has never been published; the name is not available for nomenclature, being based on “the work of an animal”. It is considered to mean diffluella by Huemer & Karsholt (2010a).

references

Beiger (1979b), Bland, Corley, Emmet ao (2002a), Elsner, Huemer & Tokár (1999a), Heckford & Sattler (1999a), Hering (1957a), Huemer (2012a), Huemer & Karsholt (1998a, 2010a), Klimesch (1950c, 1951b, 1958a), Tabell (2008a).