A leaf-mining scuttle fly (Diptera: Phoridae) as a pest of chickpeas (leguminosae) in Yugoslavia

Abstract

AbstractMegaselia arietina Disney sp. n. is described from Yugoslavia and Israel. Its larva leaf-mines chickpeas, Cicer arietinum. In Macedonia, recorded rates of infestation varied from 48.5–74.8% of the available leaves on a plant, with more than 60% of the leaves in a plot being typical. These levels of infestation seem to be related to the poor yields from the affected plots. The leaf-spot fungus Ascochyta rabiei (Coelomycetes) and the rust fungus Uromyces ciceri arietini (Uredinales) contribute to these reduced yields. The Uromyces spores are ingested by the female flies, but they are carried on the labella of the males without being ingested.