Phytomyza aurei Hering

Guglya, Yuliia, 2025, Rearing mining flies (Diptera: Agromyzidae) from host plants as an instrument for associating females with males, with the description of two new species. Report 2, Zootaxa 5658 (1), pp. 1-86 : 33-35

Phytomyza aurei Hering

( Figs. 62–64 , 235–241 )

Material examined. Ukraine: Transcarpathia: near Nevytske , 48°42'N, 22°26'E, 14.vii.2017, Yu. Guglya (1♂) ; Kvasy , 560 m a.s.l., 48°09'52"N, 24°17'03"E, 12.viii.2021 —mines with puparia collected, 14–16.viii.2021 —pupation outside the mine, 30.viii–1.ix.2021 —imago, Yu. Guglya, ex Chaerophyllum aromaticum (1♂ 3♀ 3 puparia) ; same locality, 12.viii.2021, Yu. Guglya (1♀) ; near Shyrokyi Luh , 48°17'N, 24°43'E, 19.vii.2017, Yu. Guglya (1♂) .

Mine. ( Fig. 62 ) The solitary larva forms a whitish linear upper surface leaf mine. Pupation takes place outside the mine.

Puparium. ( Figs. 63, 64 ) Brown, semi-glossy, 2.0 mm long, with shallow but distinctly visible segmentation; surface quite smooth except for narrow bands of fine spines. Posterior spiracles set flat on the body cuticle and entirely separate; black with 17–19 fine sessile bulbs in an elliptical configuration. Ventral portion of last abdominal segment not protruding posteriorly viewed from the side. Anal plate directed ventro-posteriorly.

Cephalopharingeal skeleton. ( Fig. 238 ) Right mouthhook larger dorsally than the left, both with ventro-anterior portion acute, abducted ventrally. Mouthhooks with two accessory teeth; dorsal tooth sharp, uniformly curved and directed ventrally; ventral rounded directed anteriorly. Mouthhooks and intermediate sclerite are strongly sclerotized, dorsal cornu much less so. Ventral cornu very weakly sclerotized, bearing large “closed” window posteriorly. Intermediate sclerite straight, uniformly widening posteriorly, bearing sharp tooth on the posterior third of ventral margin that is directed ventro-anteriorly. Indentation index 82.

Female head. ( Figs. 235, 236 ) Brown, with dark yellow labellum and black 1 st fl with thick brown pubescence; fronto-orbital plate not or only slightly visible laterally; 2 ors, 1 ori; ori and ors a distinctly longer than ors p; lunule of medium height, broad, semicircular, reaching the level of ori; 1 st fl large, rounded apically; gena medially 0.24 × as high as maximum height of eye.

Wing. ( Fig. 237 ) Hyaline, with greyish undertone; veins beige; costa ending after R 3+4; second cross vein absent; calypter pale beige, margin and fringe brown. Wing length 2.8 mm.

Female genitalia. ( Figs. 239–241 ) Spermathecae of medium size, 0.21× as high as anterior part of oviscape. Proctiger barrel-shaped, with several long setae located on posterior margin between cerci. Cerci spaced far from each other. Cercus wide oval, 0.29× as long as proctiger; medium setae located apically and along inner surface. Spermathecae equal in size, brown, with wrinkled surface, wider than high and flattened basally. Internal duct invagination 0.76× as deep as height of spermatheca, cylindrical. Spermathecal duct narrow and very weakly sclerotized. Ventral receptacle brown, S-shaped, with weakly sclerotized tail that is bowl-shaped in basal half. Body of receptacle spherical, with slightly curved basal connecting tube, strongly sclerotized. Basal connecting tube at confluence of tail flat, 1.75× as wide as tail. Opening of medium size, 0.7× as wide as a diameter of spherical part of body.

Comments. The male genitalia of four species occuring in Ukraine — Phytomyza adjuncta , P. aurei , P. melana and P. vilnensis are highly similar and can be confused in the absence of comparative material. Additionally, adults can be captured together and larvae of all four form similar linear leaf mines on Apiaceae ( P. adjuncta in Pimpinella spp. , the remaining three species in Chaerophyllum aromaticum ). The puparia of P. aurei and P. melana are also identical. In Guglya (2021), reared specimens of Phytomyza melana were incorrectly diagnosed as P. aurei . Additional subsequent observation of reared and captured males and females managed to correct the mistake. Figs. 189–193 , 561– 566 in Guglya (2021) relate to P. melana ; correctly reidentified material of P. aurei and P. melana are listed here in the relevant species entries. Male captured in Nova Stuzhytsa identified as P. aurei in Guglya(2021) has been reidentified as P. vilnensis . Hosts and distribution see Guglya (2021).

Figures

FIGURES 62–67. Figures 62–64: Phytomyza aurei Hering; 62: mines with larvae in Chaerophyllum aromaticum leaf; 63: puparium viewed from the side; 64: posterior segments of puparium (posterior view). Figures 65–67: Phytomyza bipunctata Loew; 65: mine in Echinops sphaerocephalus leaf; 66: empty puparium viewed from the side; 67: posterior segments of puparium (posterior view).

FIGURES 235–241. Phytomyza aurei Hering; 235: frontal view of head; 236: head viewed from the side; 237: wing; 238: cephalopharingeal skeleton; 239: oviscape, ventral receptacle and spermathecae proportionally; 240 a, b: spermathecae and ventral receptacle proportionally; a: spermatheca; b: ventral receptacle; 241: proctiger.

FIGURES 188–195. Liriomyza demeijerei Hering; 188: frontal view of head; 189: head viewed from the side; 190: wing; 191: thorax viewed from the side; 192: cephalopharingeal skeleton; 193: oviscape and spermathecae proportionally; 194: spermathecae; 195: proctiger.