Australian Journal of Entomology (2005) 44, 186-191
Tracey A. Bjorksten, Michelle Robinson and John La Salle (2005)
Species composition and population dynamics of leafmining flies and their parasitoids in Victoria
Australian Journal of Entomology 44 (2), 186-191
Abstract: Mined leaves were sampled from unsprayed sites in Victoria to record the range of leafminers and their parasitoids. Three agromyzid leafminers, Liriomyza brassicae (Riley), Liriomyza chenopodii (Watt) and Chromatomyia syngenesiae Hardy, and one drosophilid leafminer, Scaptomyza flava (Fallén), were collected, along with 15 parasitoids, mainly Eulophidae. The most common parasitoids were Hemiptarsenus varicornis (Girault) (42.5%), Diglyphus isaea (Walker), 14.6%, Closterocerus mirabilis Edwards and La Salle (10.5%), and Opius cinerariae Fisher (8.5%). Most parasitoids were collected from two or more leafminer hosts. Weekly collections from Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa var. pekinensis) infested with L. brassicae and S. flava, and beetroot (Beta vulgaris var. crassa) infested with L. chenopodii were made over two seasons at Knoxfield, Victoria to assess the relative impact of these parasitoids on agromyzid fly populations in crops. A further two parasitoid species were identified at low densities. Hemiptarsenus varicornis and D. isaea were the most numerous parasitoids collected in both crops. A different sampling method in the second year showed that O. cinerariae made up 25% of the sample from Chinese cabbage and was probably more common than estimated in the first season. Control exerted by local parasitoids was high, with 100% control of L. chenopodii reached in beets within 1-3 weeks of mines appearing and 100% control of L. brassicae within 6 weeks.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): John La Salle
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
surveys/distribution/isolation
