The serpentine leaf miner is the larva of a

fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

, ''Liriomyza brassicae'', in the family Agromyzidae, the leaf miner flies. It mines wild and cultivated plants, such as

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

, broccoli,

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus ''Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – the ...

and

Chinese broccoli Gai lan, kai-lan, Chinese broccoli, Chinese kale, or jie lan (''Brassica oleracea'' var. ''alboglabra'') is a leaf vegetable with thick, flat, glossy blue-green leaves with thick stems, and florets similar to (but much smaller than) broccoli. ...

. It is distributed in the Pacific, Africa, and the Americas.''Liriomyza brassicae'' (Riley).
Crop Knowledge Master. University of Hawaii. The life cycle of the fly is up to 21 days. It lays eggs in the leaf

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the amount of water rele ...

of host plants. Larvae hatch within four days. They are yellow or green and have three instars. It emerges from the pupa as an adult, a gray fly with black and yellow spots. The American serpentine leafminer ('' Liriomyza trifolii'') is a closely related species, and '' Liriomyza huidobrensis'' is also known as the serpentine leafminer. Another member of the genus, '' Liriomyza commelinae'' occurs widely in the neotropics and pupates within the mine. It feeds mainly on plants within the genus ''

Commelina ''Commelina'' is a genus of approximately 170 species commonly called dayflowers due to the short lives of their flowers. They are less often known as widow's tears. It is by far the largest genus of its family, Commelinaceae. The Swedish taxonom ...

''.

In popular culture

The Wire song

Outdoor Miner "Outdoor Miner" is a song written by Colin Newman and Graham Lewis, and performed by the English post-punk band Wire. It was released in January 1979 as the band's fourth single (reaching number 51 in the UK singles chart) and appeared on their s ...

was inspired by co-writer Graham Lewis's fascination with this insect and details its life cycle.

References

External links

Serpentine Leafminer.
Texas A&M University.
Bugguide.net. Species ''Liriomyza brassicae'' - Serpentine leaf miner
Agromyzidae Agricultural pest insects Diptera of Africa Leaf miners {{opomyzoidea-stub