Hinatara recta (Thomson, 1871)

Hinatara recta (Thomson, 1871)
- Norway Maple Blotch-miner

Unoccupied, but nevertheless distinctive, leaf mines of this species were found in Norway Maple leaves in a Kent woodland in 2023. It is therefore likely that this species is established in Britain.

Female. — The body of the female is black. The legs are brown with the anterior side the base of the tibiae paler. Head slightly narrowed behind the eyes and the vertex is shiny and scarcely punctate. The postocellar field is twice as wide as long. Any median furrow is only weakly indicated but the lateral furrows are deep. The postgenal carina reaches the middle of the eye. Postorbital field is sculptured with wrinkles. The labrum is brown. Clypeus very shallowly arcuately emarginate. The malar space is narrower than the diameter of an ocellus. The antennae are about 1.3× as long as the maximum width of the head with the third antennal segment as long as the fourth and fifth combined. The interantennal depression is long and deep. On the thorax the epicnemium is distinct. The scutellum is very sparsely and weakly punctate and the mesopleura are smooth and shiny. Wings weakly brownish infuscate; costa black; stigma brownish. On the fore wing vein M is weakly curved, vein 1r–m absent and vein 3r–m partially present. Tergites almost entirely smooth. The sawsheath has short, pointed, lateral apical processes.
Male. — More or less as in the female but the labrum is rather blackish and the legs darker than in the female. Tergite 9 with a pale, membranous longitudinal spot.

Hinatara recta ova are deposited at leaf tips of Norway Maple from where the larvae mine the leaf. The full depth blotch mines are characteristically scattered with frass. Young leaves on saplings are preferred.

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Size: 3.0–4.0 mm

GB IUCN Status:None
GB Rarity Status: None

Distribution: England

Flight period: Univoltine, Mar to May

Plant associations: Acer platanoides (Norway Maple)