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Parsnip leaf miner

=== Parsnip Leafminer Euleia fratria (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae ) === Parsnip leafminer is found throughout the United States and eastern Canada. It is a native of North America. There is some confusion in the literature surrounding this insect. A very similar insect, Euleia heraclei (Linnaeus), occurs in Europe, where it is known as celery leafminer. Euleia heraclei does not occur in North America.

The actual bug:

As its name explains, this insect feeds on parsnip. Several wild umbelliferous hosts have been recorded, including honewort, Cryptotaenia canadensis; cow parsnip, Heracleum lanatum; water hemlock, Conium maculatum; Oenanthe sarmentosa; as well as a composite, rattlesnake root, Prenanthes canadense.

Predators:

Several parasitoids were reared from parsnip leafminer larvae or pupae in California. Most copious were Diglyphus begini (Ashmead) and Chrysocharis but also recovered were Achrysocharella, (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Halticoptera.

Life cycle:

There is only one generation per year—the eggs are deposited in early spring and the generation is completed by mid- to late-summer. Overwintering is uncertain. Chittenden reported that adults emerge in August, but it is likely that some diapause as pupae until the next year.

The eggs:

The elliptical egg is white and averages 0.72 mm long (range 0.64–0.74 mm) and 0.22 mm wide (range 0.18–0.23 mm). One end bears a protruding knob, which functions as a micropyle. Development time for the egg is 6–8 days.

The babys(larvae)

Upon hatching, the larva burrows into leaf tissue and excavates a narrow tunnel. Within a few days, however, the larva begins to widen the tunnel, forming a blotch-like mine. Often, the mines coalesce to form a single blister containing several larvae. The larva is colorless or pale-yellow. The larvae are quite mobile, moving freely not only within the mine, but also exiting and re-entering mines. Larvae normally leave their mine due to deterioration of the food source, usually moving to a new leaf. Duration of the three instars are reported to be 4–5, 3–5, and 4–5 days, respectively. Larvae attain a length of about 7–8 mm at maturity.

The pupae:

Mature larvae pupate on the foliage, or more commonly they drop to the soil and burrow to a depth of about 1 cm for pupation. The puparium measures 3.9 mm long (range 3.6–4.4 mm) and 1.7 mm wide (range 1.6–1.8 mm). Initially, the puparium is greenish, but turns yellowish with age. Adults emerge about 14–17 days after the puparia are formed.

The adults:

The adults are brightly colored. The head, thorax, and legs are yellow, and the abdomen is pale green. The wings are marked with alternating bands of yellow and white. The wings also bear a black spot centrally near the anterior margin. The adult measures about 5 mm long. Adults mate within 12 h of emergence, and oviposition follows within three days. The female cuts a slit in leaf tissue with her ovipositor and deposits eggs within the parenchyma. Often 4–5 eggs are deposited in a row, usually near the leaf margin. Flies are relatively long lived, at least in the laboratory, and most of them survive longer than four months. It is reported that up to 210 eggs have been produced by a single female fly.

The most complete account of parsnip leafminer biology was given by Tauber and Toschi (1965). Chittenden (1912c), Phillips (1946), and Foote (1959) provided useful descriptive material.

All the damage: