You're Mine, You're Mine, You're,

As part of my recovery, my walks from home have gradually turned from short shuffling ambles to longer strolls with a bit of pace. I've not really been going anywhere with intent, it's just to stretch the legs and get some life back into muscles. But of course it doesn't take long before longer walks turn to walk-stop-walk sequences whilst looking at some shrubbery or other. And so it is that I've picked up a few leafmines over the last few days - mostly expected, but good to get the eye in for some proper effort later in the month. Almost everything so far vacated.

These three all on crab apple: Leucoptera malifoliella, Callisto denticulella and Bohemannia pulverosella.

Stigmella aceris all over the place on both Field Maple as here, and also on Norway Maple.

Etainia louisella on Field Maple keys. Actually this may be tenanted but almost impossible to dissect out without destroying it.

Perhaps the only one that wasn't entirely expected, I found a load of Phyllocnistis saligna mines on White Willow growing alongside the Whetstone Brook between the local park and school. I've not walked along there for a good few years, and realised that aside from these willows there are some osiers and some healthy looking oaks that must have been planted when the park was created c30years ago.

My walks have mainly been in the early evening after the sun has started to dip, rather than in the full blown sunshine ....

Spiralling

Yesterday evening, Nichola joined me for a nice long circular walk around Watermead CP North. It was a bit blowy for sure, but more than warm enough and dry - a fair bit different from the weather through most of the week.

I had cameras, but no nets. Earlier in the week I'd been looking through some potential galls that I might find and decided to have a look at any Mugwort I noticed, but didn't have anything else in mind. As it turned out, I couldn't find the gall on Mugwort but I ended up finding quite a few bits of interest on this plant and also on poplar, White Willow and Blackthorn.

Nearly all of the Mugwort I looked at was being actively leaf-mined. I selected a few candidates, and sorted out at least two dipteran species from this ....

The dark-centered blotch mines around the mid-ribs are Trypeta artemisiae, and the larger blotch on the right-hand side is Calycomyza artemisiae. There are also gallery mines on this leaf which I think may be a Liriomyza sp. but not sure.

I believe the poplars at this site are Hybrid Black Poplar. Certainly not White Poplar or Lombardy Poplar, and I'm sure they will have been planted at some point rather than naturally occurring along the long driveway to the car park. As I poked around looking for Phyllocnistis unipunctella mines, I quickly noticed a load of spiralled galls on the leaf petioles.

I grabbed a couple of photos and picked one to scrutinise. It didn't take much searching to put a name to this one, an aphid gall-causer Pemphigus spyrothecae. Within the spirals are burgeoning broods of aphids, and a quick look with the USB microscope revealed a load of them milling about around a crack in the gall I collected.

I did find plenty of Phyllocnistis unipunctella mines, like silvery trails and pools on the leaf surface.

I also noted a leaf rust, which was evident both on the underside and upperside of affected leaves (as in the rust was affecting both surfaces in same spot). The following are two different leaves showing each side (it was easier to scan two leaves once than one leaf twice!).

This looks spot on for Melampsora laricis-populina (Poplar Rust). I also found mines of Stigmella trimaculella on these poplars. Having found the P. unipunctella mines, I had a look at several White Willows and sure enough found mines of Phyllocnistis saligna, another ghostly trail barely breaking below the upper surface.

And as with the poplar, I noticed another leaf rust.

A bit of on-line searching indicates that on White Willow this is Melampsora salicis-albae.

Other finds included a mildew (Erysiphe prunastri) and aphid gall (Brachycaudus helichrysi) on Blackthorn, a mite gall (Acalitus brevitarsus) on Alder and Large-flowered Evening-Primrose. All in all a very pleasant and successful couple of hours walking, which was rounded off nicely by my first steak and pint since the lockdown.

Phyllocnistis saligna - Epic Win / Epic Fail

Before this is so old news that it's not worth bothering, an update on the Phyllocnistis saligna mines that I found. Once I knew the full details of how this moth actually mines the leaves, petiole and stem, and how they pupate, I wanted to get more solid evidence to properly secure the species onto the VC55 list. So I went back to Narborough bog to have a mooch about last Saturday morning, and with relative ease I found lots of mines - vacated, tenanted and with both pupal exuviae and intact pupation folds. Much clearer evidence and species duly added to VC list - epic win!

So here's a load of photos to fully show the mines on both upperside and underside, petiole and stem, pupation folds and pupal exuviae. There's even one that I subsequently realised was tenanted ......

Vacated mine, mine running into petiole.

Vacated mine, both this and the one above show neat central frass lines.

This shows a mine running down a stem, third leaf on the left just about shows evidence of a mine on underside along edge.

Another vacated mine running into petiole.

Mine running into petiole and stem, lower leaf shows pupation fold.

This mine (I subsequently discovered) is tenanted.

Pupation fold with pupal exuviae.

Intact pupation fold.

All good stuff, and all I needed to do now was wait and hope that one of the intact pupation folds would come good with a fresh adult. I checked the leaves every morning and night. On Tuesday, after getting home around midnight from watching LCFC play away in Sheffield, there was a tiny and very lively moth flitting about in the tub. I managed to secure it in a pot and have a look with the x10 lens, and bingo - there was my adult. Epic win again! But obviously there was no way I could attempt to photograph it at that late hour, so I popped the pot in the fridge without thinking and looked forward to photographing it in the morning. Morning came, photography set setup, pot comes out the fridge and .... the blasted thing had thrown a seven. Epic Fail!

Fresh, tiny, dead Phyllocnistis saligna

Oh well. There will be others .......

On Wednesday I headed over to Watermead CP North for a spot of twitching. Both Pec Sand and Spotted Crake loitering on the same scrape over on the Wanlip Meadow side. Here's views from Plover Hide ...

I got good but brief views of the crake, but the Pec Sand was in full view constantly feeding amongst Lapwings. I tried to freehand phone-scope it, and the results were laughable ...

Pectoral Sandpiper - barely.

Anyway, back to the real point. This site is along the Soar plain, completely on the other side of the City to Narborough Bog. It is a typical water-side site with loads of willows ... so I casually looked at one and there were Phyllocnistis saligna mines! Another epic win.

So having added it to the VC55 list, I've now also found it at opposite sides of the City and (as can be seen from the above) on at least two types of willow (Crack and White I think, but don't quote me). I expect more records to follow, and it may well be widely distrbuted through the county. It would probably have gone unnoticed if a novice (ie me) hadn't looked - all of the experienced county leaf-mine recorders have probably done willow to death many years ago and not looked recently.

Ghost Mines

One thing I've learnt over the last week or so is that there is a whole new type of mine to look for. I was already aware that most mines were gallery, blotch or blister types - but I wasn't aware of the mines that are hardly there at all! I've found mines on poplar and now willow that are created by Phyllocnistis spp. The larvae are feeding literally just under the surface of the leaf, not actually eating the main part of the leaf itself. the mines look like snail trails over the surface.

Those on poplar are Phyllocnistis unipunctella, and I found these at Ulverscroft last week.

Both of these leaves had pupae just under the curled edge. The larvae can be on both sides of the leaf, and the mines cans almost cover the whole leaf. They don't exactly stand out and there is no frass visible.

On Wednesday I found similar mines on willow at Narborough Bog, and thought they were good for Phyllocnistis saligna. Notably, the mines go from the leaf and along the petiole. I've had positive feedback on a FB forum (from John Langmaid no less), and at the moment it looks like there are no other VC55 records. I'm going to look for more at the weekend and particularly for tenanted mines or pupae, which will be in a leaf-fold as with unipunctella.

I also found Bedelia somnulentella on bindweed, one that I have seen before. The larvae create a distinct 'window' that is visible from the upper surface, but the larvae can be found hanging around on silk on the underside. Usually there is frass caught up in the webs. I found mines, larvae and pupae.

Finally, I found both tenanted and vacated mines on blackthorn that are Stigmella plagicolella, a tiny gallery leading to a blotch.

This last one actually has two separate mines that have converged at the blotch. You can just make out a larva at the top end.