Nemorimyza Frey, 1946
This is a small taxon with only three species feeding as leaf miners on Asteraceae. The genus was based on one species, Nemorimyza posticata but recently Zlobin (Zlobin, 1997) transferred the species of the former Amauromyza subgenus Annimyzella to Nemorimyza. One of these species, Nemorimyza maculosa, sometimes feeding on lettuce and ornamentals, is treated on this CD-ROM. Nemorimyza can be considered as the most ancient taxon within the subfamily Phytomyzinae. The plesiomorphic characters are mainly expressed in the larval instars. Apomorphic characters are not easy to find (see below).
Immature stages
The following characteristics are illustrated by figures of the larva of Nemorimyza posticata whose larvae are well investigated. An inspection of a puparium of Nemorimyza maculosa treated on this CD-ROM revealed that that larva is identical in many respects.
The larval posterior spiracles have three bulbs of equal size (Nemorimyza Larva SEM3.pct). The anterior ones have a characteristically asymmetrical shape (Nemorimyza Larva SEM1.pct). This character could be apomorphic for the genus. The mandibles are symmetrical in all larval instars and the oral lobes are situated in central position of the mouth opening (Nemorimyza Larva SEM4.pct). Except from the mandibles the cephalopharyngeal skeleton has the typical shape of a Phytomyzinae leaf miner (Nemorimyza ceph.pct).
Adults
The body coloration of the adults is mainly dark, prescutellar bristles are present. Wing venation is complete, discal cell is large. The surstyli of the male genitalia are fully articulated.
However, to characterize this small group as monophyletic taxon was not easy. Zlobin (Zlobin, 1997) reported "bacilliform sclerites are broadly fused with each other, bearing numerous microscopic spines centrally, with a pair of strong spine-like processes which are directed ventrally". Anyway, this description is of no importance for practical species identification. It is cited here because it is the justification for this genus. The species can easily be recognized by their unique aedeagus that are strongly differing from each other.