New species of the genus Calycomyza Hendel (Diptera, Agromyzidae) in the South Caucasus fauna

To study the diversity of agromizids (leaf miners) in the South Caucasus, the species external morphological features, their host plants, the development of larvae and pupae and to assess the degree of crop infestation by leaf‐miners.

The study was carried out within the framework of the scs 21‐002 scientific program “Leaf miners as pests of agricultural plants (Diptera: Agromyzidae): the latest control measures”. Type samples were fixed in 75 % ethyl alcohol and deposited in the Agrarian Scientific Research Laboratory of the Scientific Centre of Zoology and Hydroecology. Species were identified by examining the male genitalia. The degree of damage of the host–plant was determined based on intensity indicators.

As a result of this research, a new species of the Calycomyza genus was discovered in the South Caucasus fauna. Larvae of C. jucunda (Wulp, 1867) were found on the leaves of Beta vulgaris, a host plant mentioned for the first time here. As a Nearctic species, it was also first discovered in the southern Caucasus.

The study of the male genitalia indicates expansion of the biogeographical distribution of Calycomyza species, as most of them are found in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. In terms of intensity, C. jucunda is classified as a less dangerous species for agricultural crops.

1. Hendel F., Linder E. Agromyzidae. In: Die Fliegen der palaearktischen Region. 1931–1936, vol. 6, p. 59, 570 p.

2. Nowakowski J.T. Introduction to a systematic revision of the family Agromyzidae (Diptera) with some remarks on host plant selection by these flies. Annales Zoologici. 1962, vol. 8, no. 20, pp. 67–183.

3. de Jong Y., et al. Fauna Europaea – all European animal species on the web. Biodiversity Data Journal, 2014, no. 2, article id: e4034. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e4034

4. Frick K.E. Revision of the North American Calycomyza species North of Mexico Phytobia: (Agromyzidae, Diptera). Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 1956, vol. 49, pp. 284–300.

5. Steyskal G. C. The identity of Calycomyza jucunda (Wulp) (Diptera, Agromyzidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 1973, vol. 75, no. 2, pp. 191–194.

6. Stegmaier C.E. Notes on the biology and distribution of Florida leaf–mining flies of the genus Phytobia Lioy, subgenus Calycomyza Hendel (Diptera: Agromyzidae). The Florida Entomologist, 1967, vol. 50(1), pp. 13–25. https://doi.org/10.2307/3493202

7. Hering M.E. Biology of the Leaf Miners. Berlin, Springer Publ., 1951, 422 p. https://doi.org/10.1007/978‐94‐0157196‐8

8. Lakin G.F. Biometriya. Uchebnoe posobie dlya biologicheskikh spetsial'nostei vuzov [Biometry. Textbook for biological specialties of universities]. Moscow, Vysshaya shkola Publ., 1990, 352 p. (In Russian)

9. Capinera J.L. Handbook of vegetable pests. USA, Academic Press Publ., 2001, pp. 197–207.

10. Bey‐Bienko G.Ya., ed. Opredelitel' nasekomykh evropeiskoi chasti SSSR. Dvukrylye, Blokhi [Keys to the insects of the European part of the USSR. Diptera, Flea]. St. Petersburg, Nauka Publ., 1970, vol. 5, p. 2, 943 p. (In Russian)

11. Spencer K.A., Steyskal G.C. Manual of the Agromyzidae (Diptera) of the United States. Agriculture Handbook. 1986, vol. 638, pp. 140–151.

12. Grigoryan N.M., Hovhannisyan V.S. The first records of the genus Calycomyza Hendel (Diptera, Agromyzidae) from the South Caucasus. Euroasian Entomological Journal, 2023, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 81–84. DOI: 10.15298/euroasentj.22.02.05