Food Plant: Jacobaea vulgaris (Ragwort), Senecio vulgaris (Groundsel)

Egg: laid on the side of a corolla

Mine: June-August

Notes: The larva burrows into the capitulum and then through the seeds into the receptacle and petiole. They form a chamber which is black internally and the upper end consists of the apices of the flowers cemented together internally, with pappus hairs externally to form a rigid structure (as shown). The larva feeds head downwards in this chamber. Prior to emergence the larvae produce a frothy secretion which bubbles over the capitulum. Larvae exit the chamber through the top of this structure to pupariate.

Data: 28.vii.2022, Downham Market, Norfolk, VC28

Image:© Rob Edmunds

References:
Rotheray GE (2022) - Do feeding styles distinguish phytophagous anthomyiid larvae (Diptera: Anthomyiidae)? Dipterists Digest 29, 2, 171-184