Agromyza aristata Malloch
Creators: name: Eiseman, Charles S.
name: Lonsdale, Owen
name: Linden, John Van Der
name: Feldman, Tracy S.
name: Palmer, Michael W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Agromyzidae
Agromyza
Agromyza aristata

description: Agromyza aristata Malloch
(Fig. 59)
Material examined. NORTH CAROLINA: Scotland Co., Laurinburg, St. Andrews University, 18.iv.2017, em. ~ 17.iv.2018, T. S. Feldman, ex Celtis laevigata, # CSE4418, CNC1144090 (1♀); 19.iv.2017, em. ~ 17.iv.2018, T. S. Feldman, ex Celtis laevigata, # CSE4417, CNC1135675 (1♀); OKLAHOMA: Payne Co., Mehan, 36.013839°, - 96.998103°, 7.v.2017, em. 24.iv.2018, M.W. Palmer, ex Celtis occidentalis, # CSE4435, CNC1135641 (1♁).
Photographed mines. ALABAMA: Madison Co., Owens Cross Roads, 2.v.2020, kidneymoth, Ulmus alata [vacated mines], iNat 44595725; Redstone Arsenal, 18.iv.2020, kidneymoth, Ulmus americana [vacated mine], iNat 42532868; 19.v.2020, kidneymoth, Ulmus rubra [vacated mine], iNat 46547423; COLORADO: Boulder Co., Boulder, S 45 th St., 14.vii.2019, J. Shorma, Ulmus [vacated mine], iNat 32754344; CONNECTICUT: Hartford Co., Windsor, 41.893658, -72.634136, 29.v.2020, M. Apgar, Ulmus, iNat 47765803; GEORGIA: Fulton Co., Atlanta, Simmons Lake, 2.v.2020, E. Summerbell, Ulmus americana [vacated mine], iNat 44678255; KANSAS: Brown Co., Horton, 25.v.2020, ksgardener1, Ulmus [vacated mine], iNat 47359824; MASSACHUSETTS: Franklin Co., Gill, Pisgah Mountain Rd., 29.iv.2012, C.S. Eiseman, Ulmus; MARYLAND: Baltimore City County, Herring Run Park, 6.v.2015, T. Wilson, Ulmus, BG 1067957; MICHIGAN: Marquette Co., Ives Lake, 20.vi.2019, C.S. Eiseman, Ulmus [vacated mine]; MINNESOTA: Scott Co., Prior Lake, Cleary Lake Regional Park, 44.690462, -93.391813, 16.vii.2019, A. Manning, Ulmus rubra [vacated mines], iNat 27098197; NEW JERSEY: Somerset Co., Warren Twp., 10.v.2011, S. Rall, Ulmus, BG 514546; NORTH CAROLINA: Durham Co., Durham, Stagecoach Road Eagle Spur Trail, 10.vii.2017, T.S. Feldman, Ulmus alata [vacated/predated mine], BG 1401462; Wake Co., Lake Crabtree County Park, 27.vi.2018, T.S. Feldman, Ulmus alata [vacated/predated mine], BG 1763158; NORTH DAKOTA: Burleigh Co., Bismarck, 804 N Third St., 20.vi.2020, megnd, Ulmus [vacated mines], iNat 50350205; TENNESSEE: Chester Co., Henderson, 27.iv.2015, K. Childs, Ulmus [mine with dead larva], BG 1179873; WIS- CONSIN: Dane Co., Cross Plains, 28.v.2011, I. Loser, Ulmus [aborted mine], BG 614335; TEXAS: Harris Co., Houston, Wedgehill Ln., 24.iv.2020, D. Johnson, Celtis pallida [vacated/aborted mine], iNat 43187133; Tarrant Co., Keller, 10.iv.2020, K. Sasan, Ulmus americana, iNat 42888081; Tarrant, 7.iv.2020, K. Sasan, Ulmus americana, iNat 41740783; NEW BRUNSWICK: Sunbury Co., Maugerville, 17.vi.2015, C. Adam, Ulmus [mine with dead larva], BG 1162296; QUÉBEC: Communauté-Urbaine-de-Québec, Neufchâtel Est–Lebourgneuf, 5.vi.2020, C. Grenier, Ulmus [vacated/aborted mine], iNat 48760929.
Hosts. * Cannabaceae: [Celtis laevigata Willd.], C. occidentalis L., [C. pallida Torr.]; Ulmaceae: [Ulmus alata Michx.], U. americana L., U. rubra Muhl. (Eiseman & Lonsdale 2018).
Leaf mine. (Fig. 59) On Ulmus, the mine is formed on the upper surface, usually beginning near the leaf margin; initially green and linear, later widening into a brown, elongate blotch. Frass is indistinct in the narrow, green portion, but later present in blackish particles that often form two rows, becoming more randomly scattered toward the end. Concentric feeding lines are evident in the blotch (Eiseman & Lonsdale 2018). Mines on Celtis (Fig. 59) are more often formed on the lower leaf surface, may begin well away from the leaf margin, and tend to remain essentially linear throughout their length, though sometimes contorted so that this is not obvious.
Puparium. Yellowish-brown to reddish-brown; formed outside the mine.
Phenology and voltinism. This species is univoltine, with larvae feeding in April and May; pupae overwinter.
Distribution. USA: [AL, AR, CO, CT, FL, GA], IL, IN, IA, [KS, MA, MD, MI, MN, *NC, ND, NJ], NY, OH, OK, PA, [TN], VA, VT, [WI, TX]; Canada: AB, [NB], ON, [QC] (Eiseman & Lonsdale 2018).
Comments. Liriomyza adults were reportedly reared from the mines on Ulmus americana in Keller, TX that are cited above (Sasan 2020). The mines were collected on 10 April, puparia appeared on 13 April and were transferred to glass jars, and adults emerged on 21 April. Repetition of this rearing would be desirable; we suspect that a mixup of puparia with some from another rearing occurred, since the photographed mines are identical with those of Agromyza aristata.
Five closely related Agromyza species are now known to feed on Celtis. The entirely yellow legs easily distinguish A. aristata from the others— A. fission Eiseman & Lonsdale, A. varifrons Coquillett, the gall inducer A. deserta (Patton), and the European A. trebinjensis Strobl—which all have mostly dark legs (Strobl 1900; Spencer & Steyskal 1986; von Tschirnhaus 2017; Eiseman & Lonsdale 2018). Whereas in A. fission, A. trebinjensis, and A. varifrons the posterior spiracles of the larva each have three bulbs as is typical of the genus, those of A. aristata have 8–10, and those of A. deserta over 20.
description: Published as part of Eiseman, Charles S., Lonsdale, Owen, Linden, John Van Der, Feldman, Tracy S. & Palmer, Michael W., 2021, Thirteen new species of Agromyzidae (Diptera) from the United States, with new host and distribution records for 32 additional species, pp. 1-68 in Zootaxa 4931 (1) on pages 5-6, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4931.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4545337