The leaf and stem  mines of British flies and other insects by Brian Pitkin, Willem Ellis, Colin Plant and Rob Edmunds


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Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach, 1858)
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Tomato Leaf-miner


Agromyza bryoniae Kaltenbach, 1858. Verh. naturh. Ver. preuss. Rheinl. 15: 158.
Liriomyza sonchi Hering, 1927c. Z. angew. Ent. 13: 181.
Liriomyza solani Hering, 1927c. Z. angew. Ent. 13 : 181.
Liriomyza mercurialis Hering, 1932a. Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Insektenbiologie 26: 165.
Liriomyza citruli Rohdendorf, 1950. Ent. Obozr. 31: 82.
Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach, 1858); Spencer, 1972b. Handbk ident. Br. Ins. 10(5g): 52.
Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach, 1858); Spencer, 1976. Fauna ent. Scand. 5(1): 233-4, figs 396-401.
Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach, 1858); Spencer, 1990. Host specialization in the World Agromyzidae (Diptera) : 47, 62-3, 69, 78- 80 (figs 289-92), 85-86, 93, 111, 113, 148, 155, 158-60, 169, 180, & more
Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach, 1858); Bland, 1997a. Dipterists Digest 4(1): 50.


Leaf-mine: A short, irregular, linear upper surface mine on any part of the leaf. Also recorded from young pods (Bland, 1997a). The mine is illustrated in Nederlandse bladmineerders.

Mines of Liromyza bryoniae on Tomato. Image: Crown copyright - courtesy of CSL
Mines of Liromyza bryoniae on Tomato.
Image: Crown copyright - courtesy of CSL

Larva: The larva is described by Dempewolf (2001: 148).

Puparium: Pale yellowish-brown; posterior spiracles each with an ellipse of 7-12 bulbs.

Comments: A highly polyphagous species principally mining Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae, although recorded on hosts in numerous other plant families. A pest of tomatoes in glasshouses. A significant pest on several genera of cultivated cucurbits in Europe, but rarely found on its original host Bryonia (Spencer, 1990). Hosts cited here include 119 plant genera in 31 plant families of which only 4 plant genera in 2 plant families are records in Britain.

A serious pest in the Mediterranean area of tomatoes and has been recorded as a pest of tomatoes in glasshouses in England, The Netherlands and Denmark. In France tomatoes, melon, cucumber and lettuce have been attacked (Spencer, 1973a).

In Northern Ireland Liriomyza bryoniae is a notifiable pest species. If you suspect the presence of this species, please contact the Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate (tel: 01904 455174, e-mail: planthealth.infodefra.gsi.gov.uk). However, in order to be certain of its identity, the male genitalia should be critically examined. Diagnostic protocols may be found at www.csl.gov.uk/specialInterest/liriomyza.pdf. See also Collins (1996).

Bland (1997a) records mines of bryoniae in young seed pods of Pisum sativum - mangetout purchased in Scotland - which, from enquiries he made, suggested came from southern France.

Minkenberg & Lenteren (1986) review the hosts and parasites of Liriomyza bryoniae.

Hosts in Britain:

Asteraceae      
Dahlia pinnata Dahlia Pitkin, in Pitkin & Plant, 2005
Hydrocotyle     Pitkin, in Pitkin & Plant, 2005
Cucurbitaceae      
Cucumis sativus Cucumber Spencer, 1972b: 116
Fabaceae      
Phaseolus     Pitkin, in Pitkin & Plant, 2005
Lupinus     Pitkin, in Pitkin & Plant, 2005
Scrophulariaceae      
Linaria     Pitkin, in Pitkin & Plant, 2005
Solanaceae      
Atropa belladonna Deadly Nightshade Mines in BMNH
Atropa belladonna Deadly Nightshade Spencer, 1972b: 120
Lycopersicon esculentum Tomato Mines in BMNH
Lycopersicon esculentum Tomato Spencer, 1972b: 120
Solanum villosum Red Nightshade Mines in BMNH

Hosts elsewhere: Alismataceae, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Basellaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Gentianaceae, Hydrophyllaceae, Lamiaceae, Loasaceae, Malvaceae, Oxalidaceae, Pedaliaceae, Piperaceae, Plantaginaceae, Polemoniaceae, Primulaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Solanaceae, Valerianaceae and Verbenaceae.

Time of year - mines: April, August-September.

Time of year - adults: Unknown.

Distribution in Britain: Local, probably introduced. Surrey (Kew Gardens), Herts (Cheshunt), Sussex (Worthing) (Spencer, 1972b: 52), Channel Is. (Martinez in Fauna Europaea). As far north as East York in glasshouses where tomato, pepper and less often, cucumber are grown (Dom Collins, pers. comm.).

Distribution elsewhere: Widespread in Europe in Botanical Gardens and glasshouses. France, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden (Spencer, 1976: 234), The Netherlands (Nederlandse bladmineerders), Belgium (de Bruyn & von Tschirnhaus, 1991), Germany (Dempewolf (2001: 148), Albania, the Ukraine and the Caucasus (Spencer, 1976: 234), Lithuania (Ostrauskas, Pakalniskis & Taluntyte, 2003), Austria, Azores, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corsica, Crete, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, European Turkey, Greek mainland, Hungary, Italian mainland, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portuguese mainland, Sicily, Slovenia, Spanish mainland and Yugoslavia (Martinez in Fauna Europaea).

Also known in Egypt (Spencer, 1976: 234).

Parasitoids:

Chrysocharis pentheus (Walker, 1839) Hymenoptera: Eulophidae
Chrysocharis pubicornis (Zetterstedt, 1838) Hymenoptera: Eulophidae
Diglyphus isaea (Walker, 1838) Hymenoptera: Eulophidae
Diglyphus minoeus (Walker, 1838) Hymenoptera: Eulophidae
Pediobius metallicus (Nees, 1834) Hymenoptera: Eulophidae
Cyrtogaster vulgaris Walker, 1833 Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae
Halticoptera circulus (Walker, 1833) Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae

Adult:

Wing of Liriomyza bryoniae


External links: Search the internet:

British leafminers
Fauna Europaea [128074]
NBN Gateway
Nederlandse bladmineerders

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Last updated 30-Sep-2008  Brian Pitkin