''Phytomyza ranunculi'' is a species of fly in the family Agromyzidae. It is found in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

.Séguy, E. (1934) ''Diptères: Brachycères''. II. ''Muscidae acalypterae, Scatophagidae''. Paris: Éditions Faune de France 2
Bibliotheque Virtuelle Numerique pdf
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Life cycle

Eggs are laid on plants in the

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (, buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family (biology), family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 spec ...

family. The larvae are, primarily, leaf-miners. They form a long, conspicuous white mine with the frass present in close strings. In 2018 the first confirmed adults were reared from stem-mines of meadow buttercup (''

Ranunculus acris ''Ranunculus acris'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae, and is one of the more common buttercups across Europe and temperate Eurasia. Common names include meadow buttercup, tall buttercup, common buttercup and giant but ...

''). This is a rare example of 'organoxeny', where a

phytophagous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet (nutrition), diet. These more broadly also encompass an ...

insect occurs on a different part of a plant from where it can normally be found . The larvae pupates into a greyish or brown puparium, with posterior spiracles each with about 18-20 bulbs. Adult flies are approximately 2 mm in length. Adults are highly variable in colour, with several named variants including a pale form (''P. ranunculi'' var. ''flava'') and dark forms (''P. ranunculi'' var. ''flavoscutellata'' and var. ''islandica'').

Distribution

The fly is widespread throughout Europe.

Parasitoids

''P. ranunculi'' pupae are particularly at risk from

parasitism Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The en ...

. Up to 75% of all reared puparium have been shown to be parasitised. Parasitoids of this species include numerous species in the

hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

superfamilies

Chalcidoidea Chalcid wasps (, , for their metallic colour) are insects within the superfamily Chalcidoidea, part of the order Hymenoptera. The superfamily contains some 22,500 known species, and an estimated total diversity of more than 500,000 species, m ...

and

Ichneumonoidea The superfamily Ichneumonoidea contains one extinct and three extant families, including the two largest families within Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae and Braconidae. The group is thought to contain as many as 100,000 species, many of which have not ...

: *'' Chrysocharis idyia'' (

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

, 1839) *'' Chrysocharis orbicularis'' (Nees, 1834) *'' Chrysocharis pentheus'' (

, 1839) *'' Chrysocharis pubicornis'' ( Zetterstedt, 1838) *'' Chrysocharis viridis'' (Nees, 1934) *'' Pediobius metallicus'' (Nees, 1834) *'' Cirrospilus vittatus''

, 1838 *'' Diglyphus chabrias'' (

, 1838) *'' Diglyphus isaea'' (

, 1838) *'' Diglyphus minoeus'' (

, 1838) *'' Diglyphus pusztensis'' (Erdös and Novicky, 1951) *'' Hemiptarsenus ornatus'' (Nees, 1834) *'' Hemiptarsenus unguicellus'' ( Zetterstedt, 1838) *'' Necremnus tidius'' (

, 1839) *'' Pnigalio soemius'' (

, 1839) *'' Miscogaster elegans''

, 1833 *'' Miscogaster maculata''

, 1833 *'' Stenomalina gracilis'' (

, 1934) *'' Epiclerus panyas'' (

, 1839) *'' Chorebus kama'' (Nixon, 1945) *'' Coloneura stylata'' Förster, 1862 *'' Dacnusa areolaris'' (Nees, 1811) *'' Dacnusa confinis'' Ruthe, 1859 *'' Dacnusa laeta'' (Nixon, 1954) *'' Dacnusa laevipectus''

Thomson Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson M ...

, 1895 *'' Dacnusa macrospila'' ( Haliday, 1839) *'' Dacnusa maculipes''

, 1895 *'' Dacnusa melicerta'' (Nixon, 1954) *'' Dacnusa sibirica'' Telenga, 1935 *'' Dapsilarthra sylvia'' ( Haliday, 1839) *'' Exotela gilvipes'' ( Haliday, 1839) *'' Grammospila rufiventris'' (Nees, 1812) *'' Colastes braconius'' Haliday, 1833 *'' Apodesmia posticatae'' (Fischer, 1957) *'' Opius pallipes'' Wesmael, 1835 *'' Opius orbiculator'' (Nees, 1811)

References

ranunculi Leaf miners Diptera of North America Diptera of Asia Diptera of Europe Taxa named by Franz von Paula Schrank Insects described in 1803 {{Opomyzoidea-stub