Heliozela hammoniella Sorhagen, 1885

birch lift

Betula pubescens, Lauwersmeer, Ballastplaatbos; © Corrie van As: vacated mine with excision

Betula pubescens, Belgium, prov. Namur, Nismes © Stéphane Claerebout: vacated mine

detail of the excision

Betula pubescens, Belgium, prov. Antwerp, Mol, © Carina Van Steenwinkel: mine with an exceptionally long gallery section

mine

The larva begins its life as a borer in the pith of a twig. Only when it is almost full grown it enters a petiole, then the midrib, of a leaf. The leaf becomes starved that way, and turns somewhat pale (Hering, 1957a). From the midrib a short full depth corridor runs into the blade, generally in the basal part of the leaf. The corridor usually is quite short but when it happens to be longer a central frass line is visible. Finally an oval excision of about 3 x 5 mm is cut out, in which the larva drops to the ground.

hostplants

Betulaceae, monophagous

Betula pubescens.

phenology

Larvae in July – August (Emmet, 1983c).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Wullaert, 2010a).

NE recorded (Kuchlein ao, 1988a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2009).

LUX not recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2009).

distribution within Europe

From Fennoscandia and northern Russia to the Pyrenees, Alps, and Romania, and from Ireland to Central Russia (Fauna Europaea, 2009).

pupa

Described by Patočka & Turčáni (2005a).

synonyms

Heliozela betulae (Stainton, 1890).

notes

For a long time, no morphological characters were available to separate hammoniella from Heliozela resplendella. Several authors, including Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), therefore have synonymized both taxa. Mutanen ao (2007a) have definitely established that two distinct species are involved.

references

Ahr (1966a), Bengtsson (2008a), Borkowski (2003a), Buhr (1935a, 1964a), Dauphin & Aniotsbehere (1997a), Emmet (1983c), Hering (1927b, 1957a), Huisman, Koster, Muus & van Nieukerken (2013a), Huisman, Koster, van Nieukerken & Ulenberg (2004a), Kozlov, van Nieukerken, Zverev & Zvereva (2013a), Kuchlein & Donner (1993), Kuchlein, Gielis, Huisman, ao (1988a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Mutanen, Itämies & Kaila (2007a), Patočka & Turčáni (2005a), De Prins & Steeman (2011a 2013a), Redfern & Shirley (2011a), Robbins (1991a), Schütze (1931a), Skala (1949a), Sønderup (1949a), Wullaert (2010a).