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Scaptomyza flava
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Scaptomyza flava
Scaptomyza flava is an herbivorous leaf mining fly species in the family Drosophilidae. In Latin, flava means golden or yellow. The fly is amber to dark brown in color and approximately 2.5 mm in length. In Europe and New Zealand the larvae are pests of plants in the order Brassicales, including arugula, brassicas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, canola, cauliflower, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, napa cabbage, nasturtium, radish, rapini, rutabaga, turnip, wasabi and watercress. In New Zealand, its range has expanded to include host species that are intercropped with salad brassicas, including gypsophila, otherwise known as baby's breath, which is in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae) and the pea (Pisum sativum) in the Fabaceae. More typically, S. flava is oligophagous within the Brassicales. Scaptomyza are unusual within the Drospophilidae because the group includes species that are truly herbivorous. Other herbivorous drosophilids include D. suzukii, which attacks fruit very early during ripening (and so is a frugivore) and species within the genus Lordiphosa, from Africa and Asia, which also include leaf miners. Most drosophilids feed on microbes associated with decaying vegetation and sap fluxes.
Scaptomyza flava is Holarctic in distribution, commonly found across Europe, Asia and North America and only recently has been discovered in New Zealand, where it was first mistaken as a leaf mining agromyzid. The genus Scaptomyza contains species found on all continents except Antarctica.
Scaptomyza flava belongs to the order Diptera, the family Drosophilidae, and the genus Scaptomyza along with around 272 other species. Scaptomyza is a monophyletic genus nested within the paraphyletic Drosophila lineage that includes D. mojavensis, D. virliis and D. grimshawi. The genus Scaptomyza is sister to or paraphyletic with respect to the Hawaiian Drosophila radiation. Scaptomyza flava is a member of the subgenus Scaptomyza, which is the only subgenus in the Scaptomyza known to include obligate leaf mining species. However, S. flavella, in the subgenus Bunostoma, is a facultative leaf miner of New Zealand sea celery, but adult females oviposit in decaying leaves and so living leaves are attacked by larvae that move in from decaying leaves.
Scaptomyza flava was originally described as Drosophila flava in 1823, but later was redescribed as Scaptomyza flava when the genus Scaptomyza was erected (based on morphological differences with other Drosophila, including longer wings relative to the length of the body). The species has also previously been referred to as S. apicalis and S. flaveola. The most closely related living relative of S. flava is S. montana, which forms a clade sister to S. nigrita. More distantly related to the mustard-feeding Scaptomyza is S. graminum, which feeds on Caryophyllaceae.
In captivity, the duration of the Scaptomyza flava life cycle is approximately three weeks, with an average egg to adult growth period of around 20.52 days. The length of the life cycle is over two times as long as yeast-feeding Drosophila like D. melanogaster, a difference likely due to the fact that leaves are less nutritious and mount a potent chemical defense response against the eggs and leaf mining larvae.
Like other adult females in the subgenus Scaptomyza, have highly sclerotized (hardened and darkened) ovipositors valves that are studded with 20-30 tooth-like sensilla. The dentate ovipositors are used both as a trophic organ and an egg-laying organ. To make a hole, the females crawl to the lower side of the leaf and using the blunt end of the ovipositor, move the two valves from side to side, carving a hole (also called a stipple) in the leaf, usually leaving the upper epidermis intact. Once retracting the ovipositor from the wound, they turn counter-clockwise and extend the proboscis to drink the juice that seeps into the wound. Adult females often have green abdomens as a result. Eggs are laid in feeding punctures introduced to the host plant by the female. Larvae hatch somewhere around 48 hours after the female deposits the eggs in the puncture. Once hatched, the larvae feed on the mesophylll tissue within the leaves and make a serpentine mine as they make their way toward the petiole and create a blotch mine as they mature (completing two more molts as a larvae) or move to a new leaf. Most individuals remain in the same plant through multiple stages of development. The larvae then either remain in the leaves or pupariate in the soil.
Scaptomyza flava participate in anisogamous mating, like most animals. When males are exposed to females in a laboratory setting, they take two to three minutes to begin mating rituals. Generally, a male approaches a female and in a display of courtship flaps his wings and touches her body with his front legs. Females then become stationary as the male mounts her, and copulation ensues. Uninterrupted copulation typically lasts around twenty minutes. After mating, the males vibrate their wings and leave the female behind, showing no further interest.
Mating displays differed in frequency between mated and virgin males. Mated males are significantly more likely to practice courtship behavior and successfully mate than virgin flies. This suggests that male S. flava are capable of learning from previous mating experience. This behavior has also been reported in the distantly-related D. melanogaster. In the lab, 90% of flies will mate once or twice, with a much smaller percentage mating three or more times. The mating patterns of S. flava are linked to their circadian rhythm.
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Scaptomyza flava
Scaptomyza flava is an herbivorous leaf mining fly species in the family Drosophilidae. In Latin, flava means golden or yellow. The fly is amber to dark brown in color and approximately 2.5 mm in length. In Europe and New Zealand the larvae are pests of plants in the order Brassicales, including arugula, brassicas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, canola, cauliflower, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, napa cabbage, nasturtium, radish, rapini, rutabaga, turnip, wasabi and watercress. In New Zealand, its range has expanded to include host species that are intercropped with salad brassicas, including gypsophila, otherwise known as baby's breath, which is in the pink family (Caryophyllaceae) and the pea (Pisum sativum) in the Fabaceae. More typically, S. flava is oligophagous within the Brassicales. Scaptomyza are unusual within the Drospophilidae because the group includes species that are truly herbivorous. Other herbivorous drosophilids include D. suzukii, which attacks fruit very early during ripening (and so is a frugivore) and species within the genus Lordiphosa, from Africa and Asia, which also include leaf miners. Most drosophilids feed on microbes associated with decaying vegetation and sap fluxes.
Scaptomyza flava is Holarctic in distribution, commonly found across Europe, Asia and North America and only recently has been discovered in New Zealand, where it was first mistaken as a leaf mining agromyzid. The genus Scaptomyza contains species found on all continents except Antarctica.
Scaptomyza flava belongs to the order Diptera, the family Drosophilidae, and the genus Scaptomyza along with around 272 other species. Scaptomyza is a monophyletic genus nested within the paraphyletic Drosophila lineage that includes D. mojavensis, D. virliis and D. grimshawi. The genus Scaptomyza is sister to or paraphyletic with respect to the Hawaiian Drosophila radiation. Scaptomyza flava is a member of the subgenus Scaptomyza, which is the only subgenus in the Scaptomyza known to include obligate leaf mining species. However, S. flavella, in the subgenus Bunostoma, is a facultative leaf miner of New Zealand sea celery, but adult females oviposit in decaying leaves and so living leaves are attacked by larvae that move in from decaying leaves.
Scaptomyza flava was originally described as Drosophila flava in 1823, but later was redescribed as Scaptomyza flava when the genus Scaptomyza was erected (based on morphological differences with other Drosophila, including longer wings relative to the length of the body). The species has also previously been referred to as S. apicalis and S. flaveola. The most closely related living relative of S. flava is S. montana, which forms a clade sister to S. nigrita. More distantly related to the mustard-feeding Scaptomyza is S. graminum, which feeds on Caryophyllaceae.
In captivity, the duration of the Scaptomyza flava life cycle is approximately three weeks, with an average egg to adult growth period of around 20.52 days. The length of the life cycle is over two times as long as yeast-feeding Drosophila like D. melanogaster, a difference likely due to the fact that leaves are less nutritious and mount a potent chemical defense response against the eggs and leaf mining larvae.
Like other adult females in the subgenus Scaptomyza, have highly sclerotized (hardened and darkened) ovipositors valves that are studded with 20-30 tooth-like sensilla. The dentate ovipositors are used both as a trophic organ and an egg-laying organ. To make a hole, the females crawl to the lower side of the leaf and using the blunt end of the ovipositor, move the two valves from side to side, carving a hole (also called a stipple) in the leaf, usually leaving the upper epidermis intact. Once retracting the ovipositor from the wound, they turn counter-clockwise and extend the proboscis to drink the juice that seeps into the wound. Adult females often have green abdomens as a result. Eggs are laid in feeding punctures introduced to the host plant by the female. Larvae hatch somewhere around 48 hours after the female deposits the eggs in the puncture. Once hatched, the larvae feed on the mesophylll tissue within the leaves and make a serpentine mine as they make their way toward the petiole and create a blotch mine as they mature (completing two more molts as a larvae) or move to a new leaf. Most individuals remain in the same plant through multiple stages of development. The larvae then either remain in the leaves or pupariate in the soil.
Scaptomyza flava participate in anisogamous mating, like most animals. When males are exposed to females in a laboratory setting, they take two to three minutes to begin mating rituals. Generally, a male approaches a female and in a display of courtship flaps his wings and touches her body with his front legs. Females then become stationary as the male mounts her, and copulation ensues. Uninterrupted copulation typically lasts around twenty minutes. After mating, the males vibrate their wings and leave the female behind, showing no further interest.
Mating displays differed in frequency between mated and virgin males. Mated males are significantly more likely to practice courtship behavior and successfully mate than virgin flies. This suggests that male S. flava are capable of learning from previous mating experience. This behavior has also been reported in the distantly-related D. melanogaster. In the lab, 90% of flies will mate once or twice, with a much smaller percentage mating three or more times. The mating patterns of S. flava are linked to their circadian rhythm.
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