''Liriomyza huidobrensis'', commonly known as the pea leaf miner, is a species of
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
, 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 ...
in the family
Agromyzidae
The Agromyzidae are a family commonly referred to as the leaf-miner flies, for the feeding habits of their larvae, most of which are leaf miners on various plants.
A worldwide family of roughly 2,500 species, they are small, some with wing leng ...
. The larvae of this fly mine the leaves and stems of peas and a range of other vegetables.
It is also known as the serpentine leaf miner,
[ but this name is also used for a closely related species, '' Liriomyza brassicae''.
]
Description
Adults of this species are tiny flies, about long, with black and yellow bodies and translucent wings.[
]
Distribution
This leaf miner originated in South America but prior to the 1980s, was restricted to that continent and Central America. In 1987, it was first found in Europe, being detected in a glasshouse in the Netherlands. From there it has spread within Europe, especially in the Mediterranean area and Eastern Europe, this latter region being surprising because the winters would be expected to be too cold. A pea leafminer already present in North America is a different species, ''Liriomyza langei
''Liriomyza'' is a genus of leaf miner flies in the family Agromyzidae. There are at least 410 described species in ''Liriomyza''.
See also
* List of Liriomyza species
This is a list of 413 species in ''Liriomyza'', a genus of leaf miner fl ...
''.[ ''L. huidobrensis'' is now present on all continents except Australasia and Antarctica.]