Liriomyza biformata (Becker)

Boucher, Stéphanie & Wheeler, Terry A., 2014, Neotropical Agromyzidae (Diptera) of the Mission Géodésique de l’Équateur: Becker (1920) revisited, Zootaxa 3779 (2), pp. 157-176 : 168-169

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3779.2.3

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:17D92CCD-AEC6-47A4-9D47-09756607048E

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6141297

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039687D1-FF8A-FFC8-FF47-FF53DAEBFE2E

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Liriomyza biformata (Becker)
status

 

Liriomyza biformata (Becker) View in CoL

( Figs. 32–43 View FIGURES 32 – 37 View FIGURES 38 – 43 )

Agromyza biformata Becker 1920: 213 View in CoL .

Agromyza braziliensis Frost 1939: 97 View in CoL syn. n.

Liriomyza braziliensis (Frost) View in CoL , Frick, 1952: 402; Spencer 1963: 357; Spencer 1990: 188, 191. Agromyza ecuadorensis Frost 1939: 99 View in CoL syn. n. (s ynonymized with L. braziliensis View in CoL by Spencer 1963). Liriomyza ecuadorensis (Frost) View in CoL , Frick, 1952: 403.

Liriomyza subandina Blanchard 1954: 118 View in CoL syn. n. (synonymized with L. braziliensis View in CoL by Spencer 1973b). Liriomyza biformata, Spencer 1963: 372 View in CoL .

MNHN specimen. Holotype (♀). Ecuador: El Angel, alt. 3000 m, P. Rivet, 1903.

Additional specimens examined. Brazil: Cascata, Est. S. Paul. 1530. viii.1937. L.O.T. M. COL. Holotype L. braziliensis (1 ♂: NMNH). Ecuador: Baños, 19.ii.1937. S.W. Frost. Holotype L. ecuadorensis (1 ♂: NMNH); Napo: Termas de Papallacta (00°21’29”S; 78°08’52”W), 3520m, YPT in elfin forest, 3–4.iii.2005, L. Masner (1 ♂: LEM).

Host plant. Spencer (1963) recorded Liriomyza braziliensis (= L. biformata ) mining tubers of Solanum (Solanaceae) .

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from other Neotropical Liriomyza by its large size, large epistoma, first flagellomere brownish apically, prescutellar area yellow to level of second dc, mid tibial seta present, mostly yellow legs except for fore coxa, which is sometimes narrowly brown basally, and sometimes brown striations on the fore femur.

Description. Frons width 0.45 mm; ratio of frons width to eye width 1.8 (measured in dorsal view); orbit 0.2 times width of frons (frons including orbits) at midpoint; parafacial slightly projecting, forming narrow ring (cheek) below eye; 2 ors and 2 ori; orbital setulae short and mostly erect; first flagellomere small; arista slightly longer than maximum eye height; gena deep, conspicuously extended at rear ( Fig. 33 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ); gena height at midpoint: 0.30 times maximum eye height; maximum gena height (posteriorly): 0.42 times eye height; upper margin of clypeus narrow, rounded; epistoma deep, with distance between upper clypeus margin and base of facial keel (arrow, Fig. 32 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ) measuring 0.14–0.18 mm; eye bare. One presutural and three postsutural dorsocentrals; acrostichal setulae in 4 irregular rows; notopleuron with 2 setae; postpronotum with 1 strong seta and a few additional setulae; anepisternum with 2 strong setae on posterior margin a little above midpoint, fore femur with 1 row of strong setae posteriorly and 1 row ventrally; mid tibia with strong lateral seta at about midpoint; wing length 3.3–3.6 mm; M1+2 ending at wing tip; costa extending to M1+2; last section of CuA1 1.1 times length of penultimate.

Colour (see Comments for variation in L. braziliensis holotype). Frons yellow with upper orbits normally dark to level of anterior ors ( Fig. 34 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ), both vt usually on brown; hind margin of eye brown; face yellow; all antennal segments yellow except for apically pale brown first flagellomere; palpus yellow; clypeus brown. Mesonotum dark brown with prescutellar area yellow to approximately level of second postsutural dc (pin obscuring yellow area in L. biformata holotype), yellow area sometimes pointed anteriorly ( Fig. 37 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ); scutellum bright yellow centrally with stripe sometimes relatively wide ( Figs. 35–37 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ); basal scutellar setae on brown; postpronotum yellow with a central brown patch; strong seta of postpronotum on yellow ground; notopleuron yellow with a narrow brown line on anteroventral corner; anepisternum and katepisternum mostly brown except narrowly yellow on dorsal 1/4 ( Fig. 33 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ); katatergite yellow with posteroventral corner brown; calypter, margin and fringe dark brown; legs yellow except for fore coxa, which is narrowly brown basally, and femora, which sometimes have brown striations.

Male genitalia. Distiphallus short, somewhat cylindrical, and about ¼ length of mesophallus; mesophallus unevenly sclerotized in distal half, with pronounced curvatures anteriorly; surstylus with 3 distinct spines and tuft of hairs anteriorly ( Fig. 40 View FIGURES 38 – 43 ); posteroventral margin of epandrium with small spine ( Fig. 40 View FIGURES 38 – 43 ); ejaculatory apodeme large and deeply pigmented with blade evenly expanded ( Fig. 41 View FIGURES 38 – 43 ).

Comments. The holotype of Liriomyza braziliensis (synonymized here with L. biformata ) is overall paler in colour, with the orbit, first flagellomere and fore coxa completely yellow, the vti is on yellow, the anepisternum and katepisternum are more extensively yellow, and the scutellum mostly yellow with the brown lateral patch reaching the basal scutellar setae ( Fig. 36 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ). The scutellum of the L. biformata holotype (♀) and the male specimen from Napo have the scutellum narrowly yellow ( Fig. 35 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ), while in Liriomyza ecuadorensis (Frost) (synonymized with L. braziliensis by Frick, 1952), the yellow stripe is slightly wider ( Fig. 37 View FIGURES 32 – 37 ). Spencer (1963) discussed the overall colour differences between the various specimens he had examined, but he did not mention the colour of the scutellum; he dissected and examined specimens attributable to L. ecuadorensis and L. braziliensis from Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia, and concluded that they all belong to the same species with the darker forms occurring at higher elevations in the Andes.

Although Spencer (1963) mentioned that Liriomyza braziliensis (Frost) had two presutural dc, examination of the holotype confirms that it has only one presutural dc as in L. biformata . The holotype of L. ecuadorensis also has only one presutural dorsocentral seta (not two as mentioned by Spencer 1963). The comparison of the male genitalia of the holotype of L. braziliensis ( Figs. 38–41 View FIGURES 38 – 43 ) with holotype of L. biformata from Napo ( Figs. 42–43 View FIGURES 38 – 43 ) confirms that they belong to the same species. We thus conclude that these external differences are not significant, and we synonymize L. braziliensis with L. biformata .

COL

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

NMNH

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Diptera

Family

Agromyzidae

Genus

Liriomyza

Loc

Liriomyza biformata (Becker)

Boucher, Stéphanie & Wheeler, Terry A. 2014
2014
Loc

Liriomyza subandina

Spencer 1963: 372
Blanchard 1954: 118
1954
Loc

Liriomyza braziliensis

Spencer 1990: 188
Spencer 1963: 357
Frick 1952: 402
Frick 1952: 403
Frost 1939: 99
1952
Loc

Agromyza braziliensis

Frost 1939: 97
1939
Loc

Agromyza biformata

Becker 1920: 213
1920
GBIF Dataset (for parent article) Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF