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Do you know your plants?
For my Leafminers of North America project, I periodically need help identifying hostplants I find in my travels. You can peruse photos of them at iNaturalist. Thanks!
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Tag Archives: Phytomyza
A leaf-mining midge odyssey (Part 1)
Back in 2012, when I had only recently realized I needed to write a complete guide to the leafminers of North America and as a result Julia and I were driving around the US to find them all, we visited … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, Balsaminaceae, Ceanothus, Chironomidae, Diptera, Eriodictyon, Erythranthe, exuviae, fly, Gelechiidae, Impatiens, jewelweed, larva, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Limnophyes, Limnophyes viribus, Metepeira, Metriocnemus, Metriocnemus erythranthei, Metriocnemus eurynotus, midge, Mimulus, monkeyflower, Namaceae, Nepticulidae, new species, orbweaver, Phrymaceae, Phytomyza, Phytomyza eriodictyi, Plantaginaceae, pupa, Rhamnaceae, speedwell, spider, Tischeria, Tischeriidae, Veronica, Veronica anagallis-aquatica, water speedwell, web, Xenolechia ceanothiella, yerba santa
2 Comments
Dogwood Mysteries
As I go through my Leafminers of North America e-book and update each chapter for the (now nearly complete) second edition, I’ve been putting together a spreadsheet of mystery leaf mines that need further investigation. There are now over 700 … Continue reading
Posted in Unsolved Mysteries
Tagged Agromyzidae, Cornaceae, Cornus, Diptera, dogwood, fly, Gracillariidae, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, moth, Nepticulidae, Phyllocnistis, Phytomyza, Phytomyza agromyzina, Phytomyza notopleuralis
4 Comments
The Yard List(s), Part 9
Things are really picking up now… First of all, I collected something from the arborvitae hedge at the end of the day yesterday that I didn’t get around to investigating until this morning. There were two of these little white … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Acordulecera, Agromyza, Agromyza aristata, Agromyzidae, American elm, Anthomyiidae, apple, Argyresthia, Argyresthiidae, Asteraceae, beetle, Betula, Betula lenta, Betulaceae, birch, black birch, black raspberry, Castanea, Chalepini, Chalepus, Chalepus bicolor, chestnut, Chrysomelidae, cocoon, Coleophora, Coleophora comptoniella, Coleophora serratella, Coleoptera, Corylus, Cosmopterigidae, Cosmopterix, Cosmopterix gemmiferella, deertongue grass, Dichanthelium, Dichanthelium clandestinum, Diptera, elm, Fagaceae, fly, goldenrod, Gracillariidae, grass, hazelnut, Hymenoptera, Japanagromyza viridula, leaf mine, Lepidoptera, Leucospilapteryx, Malus, Marmara, new species, oak, Orchestes, Orchestes mixtus, Pegomya, Pegomya rubivora, Pergidae, Phytomyza, Phytomyza solidaginophaga, Poaceae, Quercus, Quercus rubra, raspberry, red oak, Rosaceae, Rubus, Rubus occidentalis, sawfly, Solidago, Solidago canadensis, Solidago rugosa, stem mine, Sumitrosis, Sumitrosis inaequalis, Thuja, Ulmaceae, Ulmus, Ulmus americana
6 Comments
Life Lurking in Lousewort
Not long after we started to let our lawn go wild, a couple of blue-eyed grass plants (Sisyrinchium montanum) popped up in one area. Blue-eyed grass owes its name to its grass-like leaves; it is actually in the iris family … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, blue-eyed grass, Cecidomyiidae, Chloropidae, Clinodiplosis, Diptera, Endothenia, Endothenia hebesana, flower, fly, frit fly, gall midge, Gimnomera, Gimnomera cerea, Hymenoptera, Iridaceae, Lamprotatus, Lepidoptera, lousewort, Lyrcus, Orobanchaceae, parasitism, parasitoid, Pedicularis, Pedicularis canadensis, Phytomyza, Pteromalidae, puparium, Scathophagidae, Sisyrinchium, Tortricidae, wasp
5 Comments
Some more flies 4 U
When I finished my previous post, I checked my email and discovered that my third paper with Owen Lonsdale has just been published*. In it we describe another ten new species of agromyzid flies, which brings our total to 49 … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyza, Agromyza princei, Agromyzidae, Antennaria, Asteraceae, BioBlitz, black raspberry, Calycomyza, Calycomyza smallanthi, Diptera, fly, Garrya, Garryaceae, hairy leafcup, Lamiaceae, Liriomyza, Liriomyza garryae, Liriomyza phloxiphaga, new species, Ophiomyia, Ophiomyia antennariae, Phlox, Phytomyza, Phytomyza salviarum, Polemoniaceae, pussytoes, raspberry, Rosaceae, Rubus, Rubus occidentalis, sage, Salvia, silktassel, Smallanthus uvedalius
6 Comments
Discovering New Species Along the Driveway
In this photo from May 2015, I was celebrating our newly installed solar panel’s generation of its first kilowatt hour. But unbeknownst to me at the time, the photo also shows where I collected the type specimens of two new … Continue reading
Balloon-faced Flies, Part 3
Twice before, I’ve posted photos of agromyzid flies freshly emerged from their puparia (hardened larval skins in which they pupate), with their faces grotesquely inflated. You may recall that since adult flies have no chewing mouthparts, they emerge from their … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, Apiaceae, Diptera, fly, Iowa, leaf mine, Osmorhiza, Phytomyza, ptilinum, pupa, sweet cicely
9 Comments
Another Mystery Host Plant
Last week Owen Lonsdale gave me a first batch of identifications from the big box of agromyzid fly specimens I sent him a few months ago. Unfortunately, of the ten species represented, he was only able to put species names … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, buttercup, buttercup family, fly, Iowa, leaf mine, new species, Phytomyza, Ranunculaceae, Ranunculus
3 Comments
Leafminers Awaken!
As I mentioned, on February 25 all the overwintering bugs got taken out of the fridge, and last night’s check of all the vials revealed the first two emergences. Â They both happen to have come from leaf mines in the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Acrocercops, Acrocercops astericola, Agromyzidae, aster, Asteraceae, calico aster, chalcid, daisy fleabane, Diptera, Entedoninae, Erigeron, Erigeron annuus, Eulophidae, Eurybia, Eurybia divaricata, Gelechiidae, Gnorimoschemini, Gracillariidae, larva, leaf mine, moth, parasitoid, Phytomyza, puparium, Symphyotrichum, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, wasp, white wood aster
3 Comments
Balloon-faced Flies, Part 2
A week ago, I wandered to the edge of my yard and noticed some agromyzid fly leaf mines in the bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera) that I’m fairly sure are unknown to science.  So I stuffed a good number of leaves into … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Agromyzidae, Braconidae, bush honeysuckle, Diervilla lonicera, Diptera, fly, leaf mine, parasitism, parasitoid, Phytomyza, ptilinum, wasp
10 Comments
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