Nemorimyza posticata

Nemorimyza posticata (Meigen)

(Figs. 112–115, 538–541)

Material examined: Ukraine: Transcarpathia: near Chop, flood land on the River Latoritsa Bank, 48°27’N, 22°12’E, 19–20.ix.2016 —pupariation, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (4 puparia); Volyn Region: near Shatsk, The Shatsk National Nature Park, 52°34’N, 23°54’E, 10.ix.2016, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (1♂); same locality, 16.iii.2017, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (3♀ 5 puparia); Dachne, near Lutsk, 50°48’N, 25°22’E, 26.vi.2019, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (1♀ 2 puparia); Kyiv Region: Kyiv, Irpin, 50°30’N, 30°15’E, 22.vii.2019 —pupariation, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (1 larva); Kharkiv Region: Kharkiv, Botanical Garden, 50°01’N, 36°14’E, 29.vi.2012, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (1♂ 5 puparia); near Petrivske, 49°10’N, 36°58’E, 30.vi.2014, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (1♂); near Haidary, 49°37’N, 36°19’E, 13–18.viii.2020, Yu. Guglya, ex Solidago canadensis (11♂ 3♀).

Hosts. Asteraceae: Solidago canadensis L., S. virgaurea L., Aster L., Baccaris L. (Spencer 1976), Buphtalmum L., Erechtites Raf. (Warrington 2021). Eiseman & Lonsdale (2018) noted additional host plants from Asteraceae: Elephanthopus carolinianus Raeusch., Euthamia graminifolia (L.) Nutt., Helianthus L., Oclemena acuminata (Michx.) Greene, Polymnia canadensis L., Solidago altissima L., S. latissimifolia Mill., S. sempervirens L., Symphyotrichum cordifolium (L.) G.L. Nesom, S. puniceum (L.) Á. Löve & D. Löve, Verbesina virginica L., Vernonia baldwinii Torr., V. gigantea (Walter) Trel. and Lamiaceae: Teucrium canadense L.

Mine. (Fig. 112) The solitary larva forms a brown blotch mine that is more obvious from the upperside than from the underside of the leaf. Often several larvae feed in the same leaf, in that case mines of older stages normally connected together and spread over the whole leaf. Spencer (1976) stated the mine is blackish-grey but my observations of the Ukrainian population showed that mines are all brown. Larva of the first generation (in June) pupates outside the mine, but attaching to the leaf surface. Pupation of the wintering generation takes place in the soil.

Puparium. (Figs. 113–115) Brown, semi-glossy, 3.5 mm long, with deep segmentation; surface quite smooth except for wide spine bands. Posterior spiracles set on high and narrow orange conical protuberances ending with stalk and entirely widely separate; orange, with three conical bulbs set in a circular configuration at right angles to each other at the top of the stalk. Anal plate not protruding above the surface of the puparium viewed from the side and directed posteriorly.

Cephalopharyngeal skeleton. (Fig. 538) Both mouthhooks equal in size and shape, with sharp abducted portion directed ventro-anteriorly. Each mouthhook bears two accessory teeth. Intermediate sclerite long, distinctly widening posteriorly, 1.14× as long as height of mouthhook. The dorsal cornu bears a large “open” window and the ventral cornu bears a small “closed” window. The mouthhook, the intermediate sclerite and the dorsal cornu are strongly sclerotized and the ventral cornu is much less so. Indentation index 84. See also in Sasakawa (1961: Fig. 42 l).

Female head. (Figs. 539, 540) Blackish-brown, with lunule and proboscis yellow; orbit not projecting above eye in profile, 2 orb s, 2 fr s; lunule narrow, higher than a semicircle, rounded, reaching the level between fr s; pped small, rounded; gena medially 0.1× as high as maximum height of eye.

Female genitalia. (Fig. 541) Spermathecae equal in size, dark brown, hemispherical. Spermathecal duct well sclerotized. Internal duct invagination not visible. Proctiger and ventral receptacle see in Sasakawa (1961: Fig. 42 h, j).

Distribution. Widespread in Europe from Ireland and British Isles to Belarus and from Spain to Sweden (Papp & Černý 2016); Japan; Canada, the United States, Costa Rica (Spencer 1976); Venezuela (Eiseman & Lonsdale 2018). Ukraine (first record).