Liriomyza pedestris Hendel 1931

(Fig. 24)

Liriomyza pedestris Hendel 1931: 243 .

Material examined. SAUDI ARABIA: 1♂, from Tanoma, Al-Kerya, 27.iii.2003, sweeping, H.A. Dawah (CRES). GREECE: 2♂, Crete, Lasithi, Lasithi Plateau, 2km, W. Pinakiano 14–21.x.1997, Malaise trap, J.C. Deeming & M.R. Wilson (NMWC). MALTA: 2♂, Bahrija stream, 18.iii.1996, J.C. Deeming (NMWC).

Distribution. This species was first recorded from Saudi Arabia by Deeming (2006). Spencer (1971) examined five specimens of Hendel’s type series and a male from Germany (Rügen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; Rügen Island in the Baltic Sea) designated as lectotype. It was described from Hungary, Germany (Rügen Is.), Finland, Russia (Kamchatka) and Spain and was further recorded from the Palaearctic Region; Austria, Corsica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungry, Iran, Israel, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, Morocco, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan (Černý et al. 2020).

Remarks. This is a grass-feeding species. Spencer (1971) reported that the aedeagus of L. pedestris is typical of the grass-feeders of Agromyzidae . There is difficulty in interpreting identity of any records of L. pedestris made between 1981 and 2003. In 1981 von Tschirnhaus synonymized L. pedestris with L. richteri Hering 1927, but Zlobin (2003) found that on the basis of a detailed analysis of the structure of the male genitalia characters that the two to be distinct. Papp & Černý (2017) followed Zlobin (2003) and produced excellent figures (p. 190–191 figs 58A–C and 58D–J) of pedestris and p. 217–218D-K) of richteri .

Host remarks. It has been reared from Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin., but almost certainly develops in other Poaceae (Černý et al. 2018) .