Fragaria vesca, Belgium, prov. Namur, Furfooz, Parc National de Furfooz © Stéphane Claerebout

mine

Oviposition generally at the leaf upper side, not especially close to a vein. From there a long and slender corridor starts, with frass usually a narrow central line. The corridor often crosses itself, but rarely a thick vein.

host plants

Rosaceae, oligophagous

Agrimonia eupatoria; Argentina anserina; Fragaria vesca; Filipendula vulgaria; Geum rivale, urbanum; Rubus caesius, fruticosus, idaeus.

phenology

Larvae in July and September-October (Emmet, 1983a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (De Prins, 1998a).

NE recorded (Kuchlein & de Vos, 1999a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2008).

LUX recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2008).

distribution within Europe

From Scandinavia to Italy, and from Ireland to the Crimea; not in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkan (Fauna Europaea, 2008).

larva

synonyms

Nepticula splendidissimella. Emmet (1973-74, 1983a) which much hesitation, considers the form on Strawberry a distinct species, S. dulcella (Heinemann, 1862); most modern authors, including Johansson ao (199oa) and Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a) take it as a synonym of S. splendidissimella.

notes

The mine strongly overlaps with the one made by S. aurella. Koster, Bryan & Povel (1984a) have attempted to find a diagnose that in the most difficult situation, mines on Rubus, maximizes the chance of a correct identification. For S. splendidissimella this runs, in decreasing order of importance: frass in second half of the mine maximally half as wide as the corridor; frass in first cm maximally half as wide as corridor; mine makes a turn in its first cm; corridor often crosses itself; corridor rarely crosses the midrib.

references

Anisimovas, Diškus & Stonis (2006a), Beiger (1955a, 1960a, 1979a), Bengtsson (2008a), Borkowski (1969a), Buhr (1936a, 1964a), Buszko & Baraniak (1989a), Černý (2001a), Csóka (2003a), Diškus & Stonis (2012a), Drăghia (1968a, 1971a, 1972a), Emmet (1973-74a, 1983a), van Frankenhuyzen & Houtman (1972a), van Frankenhuyzen Houtman & Kabos (1982a), Gustafsson (1985a), Gustafsson & van Nieukerken (1990a), Haase (1942a), Hartig (1939a), Hering (1934a, 1957a), Huber (1969a), Huemer (1988a), Huemer & Erlebach (2003a), Johansson ao (1990a), Klimesch (1950c, 1958c, 1981a), Koster, Bryan & Povel (1984a), Kuchlein & Donner (1993a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Kurz (2016a), Laštuvka & Laštuvka (1997), Lepiforum (2024), Lhomme (1934d), Maček (1999a), Matošević, Pernek, Dubravac & Barić (2009a), Michalska (1970a, 1972a, 1976a), Michna (1975a), Navickaitė, Diškus & Stonis (2011a, 2014a), van Nieukerken (1986a), van Nieukerken, Laštuvka & Laštuvka (2006a), van Nieukerken, Mutanen & Doorenweerd (2012a), Nowakowski (1954a), De Prins (2007a), Robbins (1991a), Skala (1939a, 1941a, 1951a), Skorb, Diškus & Stonis (0000a), Sønderup (1949a), Stammer (2016a), Starý (1930a), Steuer (1995a), Stonis, Navickaitė, Rocienė ao (2013a), Surányi (1942a), Szőcs (1977a, 1978a, 1981a), Ureche (2010a), Välimäki, Mutanen, Pentinsaari & Hirvonen (2012a), Yefremova & Kravchenko (2015a), Zoerner (1969a, 1970a).