Liriomyza richteri Hering, 1927

Ebejer, Martin J., 2021, The leaf-mining flies of the family Agromyzidae of the Maltese Islands are revisited and updated with new data and records (Diptera: Brachycera, Acalyptrata), Fragmenta entomologica 53 (1), pp. 93-104 : 97-98

Liriomyza richteri Hering, 1927

Material examined: 1♀, Malta: Balzan, 3 Mar 1976 ; 1♂, 1♀, Gozo: Daħlet Qorrott , 2 Apr 1994 .

First recorded from Malta by Gil-Ortiz et al. (2011a) as the senior synonym of Liriomyza pedestris , and this is most likely the species he referred to, it being far commoner in Malta than L. richteri . However, these taxa had been separat- ed again into two species by Zlobin (2003). The specimens reported here key out to L. richteri in Papp & Černý (2017).

The differences in the male terminalia are minor and subtle. They are listed here under L. richteri with some doubt.

Liriomyza pedestris was described from specimens taken in Spain, Hungary, Finland and Kamchatka. L. richteri was described from Murmansk, Eastern Russia. No reliable distribution can be given for this species because of the difficul- ties resulting from L. pedestris being synonymized with L. richteri and then raised again from synonymy. Thus, many records may refer to either of these two species, but as far as can be judged, both may be equally widely distributed.