Adult morphology - female ovipositor
Both, the tip of abdomen, which is adapted to lay eggs in plant tissue, and the two spermathecae of the females are often described and drawn in new species descriptions (Sasakawa, 1958, Sasakawa, 1961, Zlobin, 1997). Unfortunately there is still not enough information available to use the characters of the female terminalia extensively for species diagnostics. Additionally it is very difficult to dissect the female terminalia. Here only a brief overview is given that may serve as general information on the female ovipositor. In future, however, the female genitalia will certainly be of increasing importance for the taxonomy of Agromyzidae.

In females the anterior part of segment 7 forms an oviscape female terminalia.pct, in which the following part of the abdomen can be retracted. Anterodorsally and to a lesser extend anteroventrally the oviscape is extended far into the preceding segment ( female terminalia.pct). The latter is the major difference between the oviscape of Agromyzidae and the oviscape of other Diptera, e.g. Tephritidae and Fergusoninidae.
The posterior parts of the 7th segment (behind the oviscape) form an eversible ovipositor sheath with on its surface strong sclerotized denticles of varying size Lir huidobrensis ovip.pct Li trifolii oviscape3.pct Li trifolii oviscape2.pct. In retracted position the denticles are on the inner side. For oviposition the shaft is gradually everted. The following pictures show a retracted ( Li trifolii oviscape re.pct) and a partly telescoped ( Li trifolii oviscape v.pct) ovipositor. During oviposition, the denticles serve as rasping tools to facilitate boring into the plant tissue (Hendel, 1931-36 (1936); Spencer, 1987). The terminal part of the ovipositor consists of a pair of egg guides (sternite 8) and the well-developed proctiger including the cerci. In contrast to the Tephritidae and Fergusoninidae, the 8th segment is not modified in a heavily sclerotized piercing device. The cerci are not coalesced with the tip of the 8th segment (Figure 22, Spencer, 1987).