Agromyza nigripes Meigen, 1830
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]


Agromyza nigripes Meigen, 1830. Syst. Beschr. 6: 170.
Agromyza nigripes Meigen, 1830; Hendel, 1931. Fliegen palaearkt. Reg. 6(2): 137.
Agromyza viridominalis Spencer, 1957b. Ent. Gaz. 8: 93.
Agromyza nigripes Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1972. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 31, 34 (fig. 97), 38, 123, 124.
Agromyza nigripes Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 128-9, figs 113, 115, 222-3.
Agromyza nigripes Meigen, 1830; Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the world Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 354, 355, 359.


Leaf-mine: Larvae feeding singly, forming a long, widening mine on the upper surface of the leaf, which is generally limited to one side of the leaf. Pupation external, puparium glued to the leaf near the end of the mine (Spencer, 1976: 128).

Broad corridor, generally beginning near the leaf margin or close to the leaf tip. Most of the times the mine remains at one side of the midrib. The mine is upper-surface, but has some full depth, translucent spots here and there. Frass in rather regularly scattered grains. Pupation outside the mine. According to Dempewolf (2004a) only the male genitalia enable a reliable discrimination from A. abipennis and A. graminicola (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Larva: The larva was decribed by Griffiths (1963) and illustrated in Bladmineerders van Europa.

Puparium: Varying from black to reddish; posterior spiracular processes distinctly separated, each with 3 bulbs (Spencer, 1972: 34 (fig. 97); Spencer, 1976: 128).

Black or dark brown; not unfrequently stuck to the leaf (Bladmineerders van Europa).

Hosts in Britain:

Poaceae      
Glyceria     Robbins, 1991: 136
Glyceria fluitans Floating Sweet-grass Spencer, 1972: 123
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass Mines in BMNH
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass Spencer, 1972: 123
Holcus     Robbins, 1991: 136
Holcus     Spencer, 1972: 38
Holcus lanatus Yorkshire-fog Spencer, 1972: 123
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass Spencer, 1972: 124

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae      
Agropyron     Bladmineerders van Europa
Agrostis     Spencer, 1990: 354
Agrostis canina Velvet Bent Bladmineerders van Europa
Alopecurus     Bladmineerders van Europa
Brachypodium sylvaticum False Brome Bladmineerders van Europa
Deschampsia     Spencer, 1990: 354
Deschampsia cespitosa Tufted Hair-grass Bladmineerders van Europa
Glyceria     Spencer, 1990: 355
Glyceria fluitans Floating Sweet-grass Bladmineerders van Europa
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass Spencer, 1976: 128
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass Bladmineerders van Europa
Holcus     Spencer, 1976: 128
Holcus lanatus Yorkshire-fog Spencer, 1990: 354
Holcus lanatus Yorkshire-fog Bladmineerders van Europa
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass Bladmineerders van Europa
Hordeum     Bladmineerders van Europa
Phalaris     Bladmineerders van Europa
Setaria     Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: August.

Time of year - adults: There are two generations, in early summer and autumn.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland: Widespread and common in Britain including London (Hampstead), Surrey (Ash Vale and Bookham), Buckinghamshire (Beaconsfield) (Spencer, 1972: 38), Warwickshire (Longford) (Robbins, 1991: 136), Cambridgeshire, East Cornwall, Huntingdonshire, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Northamptonshire, Pembrokeshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Kent and Westmorland (NBN Gateway - N.B. includes Watsonian Vice Counties having publicly available records that fall within or overlap the vice county border at 10km resolution or better i.e. a record for a vice county may relate to an adjacent vice county - for included datasets see NBN Grid map below).

Also recorded in the Republic of Ireland, Co. Clare (Spencer, 1972: 38).

NBN Grid map: Note that not all datasets on the NBN Gateway may be available on the map below. If you are an NBN Gateway registered user you can request access for missing datasets via the link 'Open interactive map in new window' below.

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in continental Europe including Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 128), The Netherlands (Bladmineerders van Europa), Belgium (de Bruyn and von Tschirnhaus, 1991) and Germany (Spencer, 1976: 546), Corsica, Czech Republic, Estonia, French mainland, Hungary, ? Italian mainland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Spanish mainland (Martinez in Fauna Europaea).

Also recorded in Canada (Spencer, 1969a: 50; Spencer, 1990).

NBN interactive distribution map(s) of known host species in Great Britain and Ireland and elsewhere:

Agrostis canina, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Deschampsia cespitosa, Glyceria fluitans, Glyceria maxima, Holcus lanatus, Holcus mollis

Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chrysocharis polyzo (Walker, 1839) Hymenoptera: Eulophidae
Miscogaster maculata Walker, 1833 Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae


External links: Search the internet:

Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea [128913]
NBN Gateway

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Last updated 19-Jan-2012  Brian Pitkin Top of page