MANUAL OF THE AGROMYZIDAE (DIPTERA) 
OF THE UNITED STATES 
by Kenneth A. Spencer and George C. 
Steyskali/ 
Part 1 - Introduction and Keys 
Several major papers have been pub- 
lished on the Agromyzidae of the 
United States, but our knowledge of 
the family remains inadequate. The 
family is widely distributed through- 
out this country, larval leaf-mining 
damage occurs on many cultivated crops 
and ornamentals, and numerous alternate 
hosts facilitate reservoirs for poly- 
phagous pest species. No single key 
has hitherto been available, and 
identification of United States species 
has thus been difficult. This manual 
attempts to fill this gap, and new 
keys are provided for all genera. Much 
additional material has been studied, 
particularly from high elevations in 
Colorado and from the Southern States, 
including the results of our 
collecting. 
In the keys are synoptic descriptions, 
information on host and larval feeding, 
distribution, reference to illustra- 
tions of male genitalia, and other 
essential references. We discuss 531 
species, of which 85 are described as 
new in part 2. A generic breakdown of 
species is given in table 1. 
Forty-three of these species are 
recorded as new to the United States 
(see appendix), mostly known 
previously in Canada. The types of 
all species in the United States have 
been examined, and 22 new synonymies 
and 16 new combinations are 
established. Two species (each in the 
genera Ophiomyia , Agromyza , Cerodontha 
i/ Respectively , Department of 
Biological Sciences, University of 
Exeter, Exeter, England, and 
Systematic Entomology Laboratory, 
Agricultural Research Service, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, c/o 
National Museum of Natural History, 
Washington, D.C. 20560. 
( Dizygomyza ) , and Phytomyza ) are now 
deleted from the United States list. 
Liriomyza f laveola , recorded by Frick 
(1959)±/ from California, was found 
by Spencer (1981) to represent a 
misidentif ication of L. septentrion - 
alis , which was originally described 
from Alberta, Canada. 
REVIEW OF LITERATURE 
Following publication of short papers 
describing the first species of Agro- 
myzidae in the United States by Loew 
(1863, 1869, 1872) and Coquillett 
(1902, 1910), two important revisionary 
papers on the family were published by 
Me lander (1913) and Malloch (1913a), 
the latter including descriptions of 
31 new species. 
The first comprehensive study of 
leaf-mining Diptera in the United 
States was made by Frost (1924). This 
represented an important review of 
species, but it is misleading, as many 
identifications are inaccurate, having 
been based on European literature, 
particularly the work of the Austrian 
dipterist Hendel (1920). A useful, 
more general discussion of leaf-mining 
insects was given by Needham, Frost, 
and Tothill (1928), and a more 
detailed discussion of their biology 
was reported by Hering (1951b). Many 
short papers describing new species 
were published by Aldrich, Frost, and 
Malloch between 1914 and 1962. 
A major advance came with Frick's 
(1952a) generic revision of North 
American Agromyzidae, followed by a 
synopsis of species in the United 
States (1959). These two papers 
provided a solid basis for future work 
on the family, but important generic 
changes have been made in recent 
years. Frick's papers nevertheless 
are invaluable for the completeness of 
their references. Frick also published 
.2/The year in parentheses after the 
author's name refers to References, 
p. 331. 
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