Melanagromyza minimoides Spencer, 1966
The species is closely related to Melanagromyza minima (Malloch, 1913) but the latter species is unknown from cultivated plants. Spencer and Steyskal, 1986 provided good diagnostic characters.
IMPORTANT CHARACTERS
Adults
Small greenish species (wing length less than 2 mm); females with short oviscape (Mel minim female Sp.pct).
Male terminalia
Distiphallus is very weakly pigmented, at low magnification only the basal and subbasal vesicae are visible. Conversely to the related species Melanagromyza minima (Malloch, 1913) the bridge between the side sclerites (Spencer and Steyskal, 1986: basal sclerites) is rather short (Mel minim aedeagus Sp.pct).
Immature stages
Anterior stigma very short; posterior stigma small with small, inconspicuous central horn; color, light brown.
BIONOMICS
Seed head feeder.
HOST PLANTS
Found on cultivated sun flower (Helianthus annuus). Also on several other Asteraceae: Aster, Borrichia, Heliopsis, Helenium, Melanthera, Rudbeckia, Verbesina, Viguiera.
Urticaceae: Urtica spec (Spencer and Steyskal, 1986, Spencer, 1990).
DISTRIBUTION
USA: Florida, Ohio, Arkansas, Maryland (Spencer and Steyskal, 1986); South America: Argentina (Valladares et al., 1982), Bolivia (Pruett, 1999), Guadeloupe (Spencer et al., 1992), Venezuela (Spencer and Steyskal, 1986).
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
Apparently of some local importance in South America (Valladares et al., 1982, Pruett, 1999, Zerbino, 2001).