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Phytomyza ranunculi

Phytomyza ranunculi is a species of fly in the family Agromyzidae. It is found in the Palearctic.

Life cycle

Eggs are laid on plants in the Ranunculaceae family. The larvae are, primarily, leaf-miners. They form a long, conspicuous white mine with the frass present in close strings.

In 2018 the first confirmed adults were reared from stem-mines of meadow buttercup (Ranunculus acris). This is a rare example of 'organoxeny', where a phytophagous insect occurs on a different part of a plant from where it can normally be found .

The larvae pupates into a greyish or brown puparium, with posterior spiracles each with about 18-20 bulbs. Adult flies are approximately 2 mm in length. Adults are highly variable in colour, with several named variants including a pale form (P. ranunculi var. flava) and dark forms (P. ranunculi var. flavoscutellata and var. islandica).

Distribution

The fly is widespread throughout Europe.

Parasitoids

P. ranunculi pupae are particularly at risk from parasitism. Up to 75% of all reared puparium have been shown to be parasitised. Parasitoids of this species include numerous species in the hymenoptera superfamilies Chalcidoidea and Ichneumonoidea:

References