Plant Parasites of Europe

leafminers, galls and fungi

Plutella xylostella

Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus, 1758)

diamond-back

on Brassicaceae

Plutella xylostella imago

Hoofddorp, 29.vi.2018 © Laurens van der Linde: imago

Plutella xylostella: larvae on Brassica oleracea

Brassica oleracea, Belgium, prov. Hainaut, Mouscron, 6.vii.2018 © Stéphane Claerebout: young larva move in and out of the leaf

Plutella xylostella: mines on Brassica oleracea

part of a leaf with small mines

Plutella xylostella: larvae on Brassica oleracea

mine

Plutella xylostella: egg

egg

habitus

Alliaria petiolata, Nunspeet

detail

detail

Plutella xylostella feeding

Crambe maritima, Denmark, NW Zealand, Ordrup Næ, © Hans Henrik Bruun; free-living larvae and window feeding

mine

Eggs are deposited at the leaf lower surface. Young larva make a number of tiny full depth blotch or corridor mines, only a few mm in size, that contain no silk. Initially the frass is ejected from the mines, later it is stacked in the oldest part. Soon after the the larvae live free, eating windows in the leaf underside.

hostplants

Brassicaceae, Capparaceae, Cleomaceae, Tropaeolaceae; narrowly polyphagous

Aethionema arabicum; Alliaria petiolata; Alyssum; Arabidopsis; Arabis; Armoracia rusticana; Aubrieta deltoidea; Aurinia saxatilis; Barbarea vulgaris; Biscutella; Brassica napus, nigra, oleracea; Braya; Bunias; Cakile maritima; Capparis spinosa; Calepina; Camelina; Capsella; Cardamine; Cardaria; Cleome graveolens, spinosa; Cochlearia; Conringia orientalis; Crambe cordifolia, koktebelica, maritima; Diplotaxis; Eruca; Erucastrum; Erysimum cheiri; Hesperis matronalis; Hirschfeldia incana; Iberis; Isatis tinctoria; Lepidium sativum; Lobularia; Lunaria annua; Malcolmia littorea; Matthiola longipetala subsp. bicornis, odoratissima; Moricandia; Myagrum; Neslia; Peltaria; Raphanus raphanistrum, sativus; Reseda; Rorippa; Sinapis alba, arvensis; Sisymbrium supinum; Thlaspi; Tropaeolum.

Newman found a strong preference for Lepidium sativum.

phenology

Mining larvae in June and August (Agassiz, 1996a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Phegea, 2008).

NE recorded (microlepidoptera.nl, 2008).

LUX recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2008).

distribution within Europe

cosmopolitain.

larva

pupa

Described by Patočka (1999b), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a).

synonyms

Plutella maculipennis (Curtis, 1832).

parasitoids, predators

Pteromalus puparum.

notes

An important pest on various Brassicaceae (“diamond back moth”).

The reticulate cocoon strongly resembles the one of the related Acrolepiopsis assectella, but the material in assectella is clearly coarser (Landry, 2007a).

references

Agassiz (1996a), Aguiar & Karsholt (2006a), Amsel & Hering (1931a), Baldizzone (2008a), Baraniak (2007a), Bengtsson & Johansson (2011a), Biesenbaum (2003a), Buhr (1935a,b, 1936a, 1937a, 1964a), Deschka & Wimmer (2000a), Hering (1957a), Huemer (2012a), Huertas Dionisio (2002a, 2007a), Kozlov & Kullberg (2006a), Landry (2007a), Leutsch (2011a), Maček (1999a), Newman (2014a), Patočka (1999b), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a), Robbins (1991a), Skala (1951b), Szőcs (1977a), Tomasi (2014a), Žikić, Ritt, Colacci, ao (2019a).

Last modified 28.vii.2023