The leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects
 

(Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera)

by Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds

 

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, 1972b. 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-miner: 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 larvae of flies are leg-less maggots without a head capsule (see examples). They never have thoracic or abdominal legs. They do not have chewing mouthparts, although they do have a characteristic cephalo-pharyngeal skeleton (see examples), usually visible internally through the body wall.

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

Puparium: The puparia of flies are formed within the hardened last larval skin or puparium and as a result sheaths enclosing head appendages, wings and legs are not visible externally (see examples).

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

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Poaceae        
Glyceria       Robbins, 1991: 136
Glyceria fluitans Floating Sweet-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 123
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Mines in BMNH
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 123
Holcus       Robbins, 1991: 136
Holcus       Spencer, 1972b: 38
Holcus lanatus Yorkshire-fog British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1972b: 123
Holcus mollis Creeping Soft-grass   Spencer, 1972b: 124

Hosts elsewhere:

Poaceae        
Agrostis       Spencer, 1990: 354
Agrostis canina Velvet Bent British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Alopecurus       Bladmineerders van Europa
Brachypodium sylvaticum False Brome British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Deschampsia       Spencer, 1990: 354
Deschampsia cespitosa Tufted Hair-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Elytrigia       Bladmineerders van Europa, as Agropyron
Glyceria       Spencer, 1990: 355
Glyceria fluitans Floating Sweet-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1976: 128
Glyceria maxima Reed Sweet-grass British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Bladmineerders van Europa
Holcus       Spencer, 1976: 128
Holcus lanatus Yorkshire-fog British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. Spencer, 1990: 354
Holcus lanatus Yorkshire-fog British Wild Flowers by John Somerville et al. 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, 1972b: 38), Warwickshire (Longford) (Robbins, 1991: 136), Cambridgeshire, Denbighshire, East Cornwall, Huntingdonshire, North Hampshire, North Somerset, Northamptonshire, Pembrokeshire, South-west Yorkshire, Stafford, Surrey, West Cornwall, West Gloucestershire and Westmorland (NBN Atlas).

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

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 (Fauna Europaea).

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

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

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

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere:

Chalcidoidea   
Chrysocharis polyzo (Walker, 1839) Eulophidae: Entedoninae
Miscogaster maculata Walker, 1833 Pteromalidae: Miscogastrinae
Ichneumonoidea - Links to species no longer available  
Chorebus hilaris Griffiths, 1967 Braconidae: Alysiinae
Chorebus nydia (Nixon, 1937) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Exotela flavicoxa (Thomson, 1895) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Exotela melanocera (Thomson, 1895) Braconidae: Alysiinae
Pholetesor viminetorum (Wesmael, 1837) Braconidae: Microgastrinae
Apodesmia posticatae (Fischer, 1957) Braconidae: Opiinae
Atormus victus (Haliday, 1837) Braconidae: Opiinae
Neopius rudis (Wesmael, 1835) Braconidae: Opiinae
Opius singularis Wesmael, 1835 Braconidae: Opiinae
Phaedrotoma rex (Fischer, 1958) Braconidae: Opiinae
Phaedrotoma rudis (Wesmael, 1835) Braconidae: Opiinae


External links: Search the internet:
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bladmineerders van Europa
British leafminers
Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea
NBN Atlas
NHM UK Checklist
Find using Google
Find using Google Scholar
Find images using Google


XHTML Validator Last updated 08-Oct-2019 Brian Pitkin Top of page