Abundance of American serpentine leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii (Diptera: Agromyzidae), and its parasitoids on five vegetable crops grown in south Florida

Liriomyza trifolii is one of the most serious insect pests of vegetable crop in Florida. Adult female punctures the leaf with the help of ovipositor and feeds on plant sap. Female lays eggs in these punctures. An adult female can lay 35-39 eggs per day, a total of 200-400 in lifetime. Immediately after hatching, larva starts mining the leaf and feeds on mesophyll layer of the leaf until the larva emerges from the leaf. L. trifolii infests host crops at the beginning of germination until harvest.  In the four crops,  squash (Cucurbita pepo), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and cabbage (Brassica oleracea), in the early stage of germination, population abundance was commonly low and the distribution pattern of adults and feeding mines were regular  as compared with snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris).  In general, the abundance of L. trifolii was higher in bean (P. vulgaris) than in squash (C. pepo) than in cucumber (C. sativus) than in tomato (S. lycopersicum) and was the lowest in cabbage (B. oleracea).  This information of the present research studies carries great value in developing a pest management decision. Based on this information growers will be able to develop a site selective insecticide management program.