Liriomyza sativae
| Liriomyza sativae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Section: | Schizophora |
| Family: | Agromyzidae |
| Genus: | Liriomyza |
| Species: | L. sativae |
| Binomial name | |
|
Liriomyza sativae Blanchard |
|
Liriomyza sativae, commonly known as the vegetable leaf miner, is a species of insect, a fly in the family Agromyzidae. The larvae of this fly mine the leaves of a range of vegetables and weeds, but seem to favour plants in the families Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae and Solanaceae.
Eggs of L. sativae measure approximately 0.25 by 0.12 mm (0.010 by 0.005 in) and are translucent and whitish. The larvae are legless grubs, with no head capsule. They are translucent at first, but become yellowish-orange in later instars. The pupae are oval and slightly flattened and vary in colour from yellowish-orange to a darker golden brown when the adults are nearly ready to emerge. The adults are up to 1.7 mm (0.07 in) long, with females being larger than males; the face, frons, third segment of the antenna and scutellum are yellow, and the mesothorax and abdomen are black, although the edges of some plates on the abdomen are yellow. The limbs are brown with yellow femora and coxa.
L. sativae occurs in the southern part of the United States, in Central America and in much of South America. It is sometimes detected in more northerly parts of the United States having been transported there in plant material, but it is unable to survive in cold weather (apart from in glasshouses).
The larvae of Liriomyza sativae mine the leaves of a number of plants grown as vegetables as well as many weeds, with forty plants from ten families acting as hosts in Florida. Plants in the families Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae and Solanaceae are often infested, and vegetable crops affected include beans, eggplant, potato, pepper, tomato, squash and watermelon. Celery is also attacked, but to a lesser extent than by the closely related American leaf miner (Liriomyza trifolii), and wild plants that act as host include Solanum americanum and Bidens alba.
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