Leaf mining damage by serpentine leafminers, Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera: Agromyzidae), is a major problem of many leafy vegetables especially lettuce. A hierarchy of leaf probing preference by L. trifolii on romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars ‘Floricos 83’ (FC), ‘Parris Island Cos’ (PI), ‘Tall Guzmaine’ (TG), and ‘Valmaine’ (VL) was determined. Based on stipple counts (puncture wounds in the leaf surface), L. trifolii preferred TG by an experiment-wide average of 3:1 over the other cultivars. In choice tests where L. trifolii were able to select their preferred cultivar, TG was preferred 2.2:1 to 5.5:1 over the over varieties. On 12-leaf stage TG plants, eight female flies produced means ± SEM of 664.2 ± 165.8, 1,581.8 ± 333.8, and 2,084.5 ± 242.6 stipples per plant after 24, 48, and 72 h exposures, respectively. Preference for TG was maintained in no-choice tests where TG was preferred 1.8:1 to 2.6:1 over the other cultivars. Stipple counts on FC, PI, and VL did not vary significantly between choice and no-choice tests, but nearly twice as many stipples per plant were found on TG in choice than in no-choice tests. More probing occurred on all cultivars on the youngest fully expanded leaves in the middle of the plants than on leaves toward the bottom or top of the plants. Preference for these middle leaves was more pronounced on TG than on the other cultivars. The differences in stipple rates followed the pedigrees of the cultivars tested. The character(s) preferred by L. trifolii were apparently introduced into the lineage with a cross to ‘Paris White.’
Notes on the parasitoid fauna of the serpentine leafminer Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera : Agromyzidae) in Okinawa, southern Japan
