Liriomyza taraxaci Hering

Guglya, Yuliia, 2021, Rearing mining flies (Diptera: Agromyzidae) from host plants as an instrument for associating females with males, with the description of seven new species, Zootaxa 5014 (1), pp. 1-158 : 58-59

Liriomyza taraxaci Hering

( Figs. 172–175 , 513–518 )

Material examined: Ukraine: Volyn Region: Dachne, near Lutsk , 50°48’N, 25°22’E, 20.vi.2019, Yu. Guglya, ex Taraxacum officinale (1♀) ; Kharkiv Region: Piatуkhatky , N Kharkiv, 50°05’N, 36°14’E, 9, 13.vi.2019, Yu. Gug- lya, ex Taraxacum officinale (2♂ 4♀ 5 puparia) .

Hosts. Asteraceae : Aposeris Neck, Arnoseris Gaertn. , Leontodon L., Sonchus L., Taraxacum F. H. Wigg. ( Benavent-Corai et al. 2005) , Cichorium intubus L., Krigia dandelion Nutt. , K. virginica (L.) Willd., Lactuca biennis (Moench) Fernald , L. canadensis L., L. sativa L., L. serriola L. ( Eiseman et al. 2021).

Mine. ( Fig. 172 ) The solitary larva forms an upper surface blotch mine. Pupation takes place outside the mine.

Puparium. ( Figs. 173–175 ) Straw-coloured, translucent, glossy, 2.0 mm long, with distinct segmentation; surface quite smooth except for wide spine bands and two last abdominal segments finely wrinkled. Posterior spiracles set on short, stout, conical protuberances that are entirely separate; brown, with 5–8 sessile bulbs arranged in a semicircle, the bulbs increasing in size from dorsal to ventral end. Anal plate brown, not protruding above the surface of the puparium viewed from the side and directed ventro-posteriorly.

Cephalopharyngeal skeleton. ( Fig. 513 ) Right mouthhook larger than the left, each with ventral hook-like portion distinctly abducted and bearing two wide accessory teeth. Intermediate sclerite massive, 0.85× as long as maximum height of left mouthhook. The mouthhook and the intermediate sclerite ventro-anteriorly are strongly sclerotized, the intermediate sclerite centrally and posteriorly and the pharyngeal sclerite anteriorly less sclerotized and the rest of the sclerites very weakly sclerotized. The dorsal cornu bears an elongated “closed” window posteriorly. Indentation index 90.

Female head. ( Figs. 514, 515 ) Bicolor yellowish-orange, with only arista, oc tr and postgena posteriorly black; orbit not projecting above eye in profile; 2 orb s, 2 fr s; lunule of medium height, narrowing posteriorly, reaching the level of the posterior fr s; pped of medium size, rounded, with long bright yellow pubescence; gena medially 0.25× as high as maximum height of eye.

Thorax viewed from the side. ( Fig. 516 ) Mostly yellow, with kepst in ventral two-thirds and mr ventro-posteriorly and pprn dorsally black; anepist anteriorly and ventrally, anepm medially and mtkepst posteriorly bear elongated blackish spots. Calypter and margin yellowish-grey, fringe yellow. Cx 1 proximally, cx 2 posteriorly and cx 3 darkened.

Female genitalia. ( Figs. 517, 518 ) Capsule of spermatheca is of medium size, 0.28× as high as height of anterior part of oviscape. Spermathecae equal in size, dark brown, obovate, with narrow plate-shaped basal collar. Neck of spermatheca distinctly narrower than spermathecal base. Spermathecal duct weakly sclerotized.

Distribution. Holarctic species recorded from 27 European countries, Canada and the United States ( Papp & Černý 2017). Ukraine (first record).

Figures

FIGURES 168–175. Figures 168–171: Liriomyza strigata (Meigen); 168: mine in Verbascum densiflorum leaf; 169–170: posterior segments of puparium; 169: lateral view; 170: posterior view. 171: posterior spiracles (posterior view). Figures 172–175: L. taraxaci Hering; 172: mine in Taraxacum officinale leaf; 173–174: posterior segments of puparium; 173: posterior view; 174: lateral view. 175: posterior spiracles (posterior view).

FIGURES 513–518. Liriomyza taraxaci Hering; 513: cephalopharyngeal skeleton; 514: frontal view of head; 515: head viewed from the side; 516: thorax viewed from the side; 517: oviscape and spermathecae proportionally; 518: spermatheca.