You are here
Home » Nepticuloidea » Nepticuloidea » Nepticulidae » Stigmella » Core Stigmella » Stigmella ruficapitella group - s.l. » Stigmella ruficapitella group - s.s. » Stigmella svenssoni - (Johansson, 1971) Emmet, 1976
Recent Publications
- The Nepticulidae and Opostegidae (Lepidoptera) of North West Europe
- Introduction to the Nepticulidae
- Stigmella aurella (F.) and Stigmella splendidissimella (H.S.) (Lep., Nepticulidae) - a method of distinguishing mines on Rubus
- The Ando-Patagonian Stigmella magnispinella group (Lepidoptera, Nepticulidae) with description of new species from Ecuador, Peru and Argentina
- Die Lepidopterenfauna von Herkulesbad und Orsova. Eine zoogeographische Studie
- Influences of leaf-mining insects on their host plants: A review
Nepticuloidea
Stigmella svenssoni (Johansson, 1971) Emmet, 1976
Stigmella svenssoni
Diagnostic description:Diagnosis. Male with pale grey hindwing without any androconial scales, which separates it from similar S. roborella. It is also usually larger and more coarsely scaled than S. roborella and szoecsiella. A previously undescribed diagnostic character is found on the underside of the forewing of the male. In the basal 1/2 of the wing the scale cover is thin, the scales are arranged in some sort of fish-bone pattern, and in the middle of this runs an oblique row of small scales. In the similar species (such as S. roborella: the scaling is thick, and all scales have their tips in the direction of the wingtip.
Male genitalia characterised by relatively short aedeagus, with long curved cornuti anteriorly. Female genitalia with sclerotized plate in accessory sac and some very small spines posteriorly; ductus spermathecae long, with about 10 convolutions.Associations:Hostplant. Quercus robur.
Leafmine. A long, relatively wide gallery with variable width of frass in second half, often dispersed, sometimes linear. Egg on leaf underside. Probably not or hardly possible to separate from S. samiatella and some ruficapitella, but in recent years British authors claim that mines can reliably be separated. However, no clear description of the diagnostic characters has been given. Larva yellow, described in detail by Gustafsson & Van Nieukerken (1990) who noted a diagnostic character: 2 setal pairs on abdominal segment 9, in contrast to the other species with yellow larvae of which the larva is known, which have 3 pairs. Cocoon: red-brown.Distribution:Widespread in northern half of Europe, but localised: Norway, Sweden (type locality), Finland, Denmark (Buhl et al. 1981), Latvia (Puplesis 1994), Netherlands (Van Nieukerken 1982), Germany (Segerer 1997, Steuer 1998), Slovakia (Tokár et al. 2002), Hungary, France (new record); two isolated records in southern Europe: northern Italy and northern Greece (new record). From Ireland only recorded on the basis of leafmines (Emmet 1981), up to now no adults found (K. Bond in litt.). Apparently commoner in the northern and western parts of its distribution area. England.
Life cycle:Life-history. In northern Europe and Britain believed to be univoltine with occasional partial second generation (Emmet 1976b, 1988, Johansson & Nielsen 1990), more to the south probably bivoltine. Larvae collected in July-October, occasionally November, adults from May to August, one exceptional finding of a female in an unusually warm January in Germany.
Citation:This taxonomic description is based on Van Nieukerken (2003).