Liriomyza cannabis [Diptera: Agromyzidae] in Leaf and stem mines of British flies and other insects

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

Liriomyza cannabis Hendel, 1931
[Diptera: Agromyzidae]

Liriomyza cannabis Hendel, 1931.

Leaf-miner: Upper-surface corridor. When there is sufficienty space the first part of the corridor is wound in a dense spiral. (This strongly reminds the mine of L. eupatorii, but there the spiral is larger.) Frass, at least partly, in strings. Pupation outside the mine (Bladmineerders van Europa).

The mine starts with a spiral and then becomes more or less straight, mining the upper leaf surface. Frass strings are also evident. The mine looks very similar to L.eupatorii, but in the latter the initial spiral is larger. Future DNA analysis may synonomise these species. This species was first notified to the Plant Health and Seed Inspectorate (APHA) in June 2016 although it seemed to have been present under glass, at secure sites under Home Office license, for 18 months. (British leafminers).

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.

Described by de Meijere (1927a) and Sasakawa (1961a); rear spiraculum with 3 papillae, the posterior one elongated, hook-like (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).

Hosts in Great Britain and Ireland:

Cannabaceae
Cannabis	sativus	Cannabis		British leafminers

Hosts elsewhere:

Cannabaceae
Cannabis	sativus	Cannabis		Bladmineerders van Europa

Time of year - mines: Two generations (Hering, 1957). The mines are found in June (British leafminers).

Time of year - adults: Currently unknown.

Distribution in Great Britain and Ireland:

Distribution elsewhere: From Scandinavia to Slovenia, Serbia and Thrace (Fauna Europaea, 2008); introduced in Britain (Collins ao, 2016a) (Bladmineerders van Europa).

NBN Atlas links to known host species:

Cannabis sativa

British and Irish Parasitoids in Britain and elsewhere: Unknown.


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


	Last updated 13-May-2018 Brian Pitkin