Ectoedemia (Ectoedemia) mahalebella (Klimesch)

van Nieukerken, Erik, Laštůvka, Aleš & Laštůvka, Zdeněk, 2010, Western Palaearctic Ectoedemia (Zimmermannia) Hering and Ectoedemia Busck s. str. (Lepidoptera: Nepticulidae): five new species and new data on distribution, hostplants and recognition, ZooKeys 32 (32), pp. 1-82 : 71

Ectoedemia (Ectoedemia) mahalebella (Klimesch)

Biology. Hostplants: Prunus spp., particularly P. mahaleb L., further P. cocomilia Ten. ( Greece) , P. tenella Batsch ( Hungary) , P. fruticosa Pallas , P. avium L., P. cerasus L., Prunus cerasifera Ehrh. (new record), P. domestica L. and P. spinosa L. (new record). On many hosts, confusion with mines of E. spinosella is possible, as happened with records from France, Les Prés which were partly misidentified as spinosella (see there). In this particular locality E. mahalebella was common on Prunus mahaleb , but also occurred on P. spinosa and P. domestica . Leafmines of E. mahalebella occur more often away from the midrib, near leaf margin, but this character is not absolute (see Van Nieukerken 1985). Univoltine in much of its area, bivoltine further south. Larvae in June ( Greece) and again in July to November. Adults fly in May-August, the latter probably of the second generation.

Distribution. Widespread in southern half of Europe, but not yet found in Iberian Peninsula, northernmost record in northern France: Dun sur Meuse (Van Nieukerken et al. 2006). Switzerland: Sauter and Whitebread 2005; Czech Republic, Slovakia: Laštůvka and Laštůvka 1990b; Bulgaria: Tomov and Pelov 1998.

Material. Croatia: 2♁, 4♀, Krk, Draga Baska ; Kampelje and Misucaynica, 6.VII.1976, 30.VII.1986, 13.VIII.2004, 17.VIII.2007, 27.VII.2008, G. Baldizzone, E. Jäckh ( GB, RMNH, USNM) . Greece: 1♁, Larissa , Stomio, 9.VI.1999, Prunus cerasifera , e.l. vii.1997, A. & Z. Laštůvka (AL) .