Csóka, György (2003): Levélaknák és levélaknázók - Leaf mines and leaf miners. Hungarian Forest Research Institute. Erdészeti Turományos Intézet, Agroinform Kiadó, Budapest, 192 pp. The order Lepidoptera is the most species rich from point of leaf miners. There are many families within the order involving leaf mining species. A few examples of these families are given below. Pigmy moths (Nepticulidae) are small moths with wingspan of 3-10 mm. The number of species occurring in Central Europe is more than 180. Every species of the family is leaf miner, with a few exceptions mining in shoots, under bark and fruits of trees. There are always faeces in their mines. The mines can either be serpentines, blotches or mixed mines. The highest richness is found on Malus, Crataegus, Betula and Quercus. There are ca. 30 species of them living on oaks for example. The family Tischeriidae is far less rich in species than the former one. 8 species of them are known from Hungary. All of the are leaf miners. Their mines are blotch mines. The larvae pupate within the mine either in a cocoon or without it. Tischeria ekebladella belonging to this family is know as a pest of oaks. Family Bucculatricidae is represented by 20 species in Hungary. Their hosts are different herbs (i.e. Achillea, Artemisia,) and woody plants (i.e. Alnus, Tilia, Ulmus). Larvae usually mine only when young, later peel the leaves or chew holes in them. The family (Gracillariidae) incorporates 3 subfamilies (Gracillariinae. Lithocolletinae, Phyllocnistinae) earlier considered as separate families. Subfamily Gracillariinae involves several genera with different life histories and mines. While for example Parectopa and Arcocercops species mine during their whole larval development, the larval development of Caloptilia, Callisto, Gracillaria and Parornix species can be divided in two distinct parts. The larvae mine when they young, but later live in a leaf fold (see Caloptilia rufipennela on page..). Species belonging to subfamily Lithocolletinae make blotch mines. If the mine is on the back side of the leaf, often a tent-like bump can be seen on the upper surface. This gives the Hungarian name of the group: "tent leaf miners". The larvae, with one exception pupate within the mine. Mines of closely related species living on same host can hardly be distinguished. There are 4 species belonging to subfamily Phyllocnistinae occurring in Hungary. They make long, narrow serpentine mines on leaves of poplars and willows (one species also mines willow shoots). The larvae feed close under the epidermis. Caterpillars of sack holders (Coleophoridae) live and mine on a very special way, which can be found only in Lepidoptera. 180 species of them are known from Hungary. The sack is a protective cover on the caterpillar's body. The larva bores itself into the leaf tissues from the sack. The entrance holes on mines of these species are well seen, and the mines are without faeces. These mines are not species-specific, the mine itself is not enough to identify the species. Characteristics of sacks (size, shape, etc.) usually can be used for species identification. Sacks are very diverse, caterpillars build in their own webs and different debris (leaf fragments, grass, etc.) in the sack (see Fig 3-4). The fact that larvae of many species make more than one sack different in size and shape during larval development makes the identification sometimes difficult. Caterpillars of some species makes really many sacks. On top of Coleophoridae representatives of other families (i.e. Psychidae) mine from sack.
On top the few families with leaf mining species introduced shortly, there are many other lepidopteran families with leaf mining species in them. |
Forest Pests: Insects, Diseases & Other Damage Agents |
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