Delia floralis

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Delia floralis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Anthomyiidae
Genus: Delia
Species:
D. floralis
Binomial name
Delia floralis
(Fallén, 1824))
Synonyms

Delia floralis, commonly known as the turnip root fly or summer cabbage fly, is a cosmopolitan pest of crops. The larvae or maggots feed on the roots of various plants in the family Brassicaceae.

Contents

Morphology and biology

This species resembles the closely related cabbage root fly in appearance though it is slightly larger at seven to eight millimetres long. The body is light gray and the yellowish wings are transparent with yellow veins. Over most of its range, there is only one generation of this fly each year. The eggs are laid seven to ten days after the adult has emerged from the pupa. They are white and cigar-shaped and are laid in groups of thirty or forty eggs at the root collar of the host plant or on the ground nearby. Often several females lay eggs on one plant. The glossy white or yellow larvae hatch in five to fourteen days. They feed for about forty days, moulting three times, eating the young roots or tunneling into the main root of the host plant [2] or even penetrating into the basal part of the leaves of hearting cabbage. The pupae are brown and about six millimetres in length. The insect overwinters as a pupa in the ground at a depth of five centimetres or more. [3] The pupae can endure frosts of -33 °C and in the following year the adults emerge at varying dates, doing so when the soil temperature reaches 18 °C at the depth of the pupae. [2]

Distribution

The turnip root fly is found in Western Europe, Russia, Northeast China, Korea, Japan and North America. [2]

Economic significance

The larvae damage the roots of cabbage, turnip, radish, swede and other cruciferous crops. The growth of damaged plants is slow and development is poor resulting in a reduced yield. [2] Large scale attacks cause cessation of growth with the plants exhibiting a leaden hue and wilting, subsequently turning yellow and dying. [3] Control measures include the early planting of strong plants, the use of peat-compost pots, the use of additional fertilizer, deep autumn ploughing after the harvesting of cruciferous crops and insecticide treatments. [2]

Research

Related Research Articles

<i>Brassica</i> Genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Brassica is a genus of plants in the cabbage and mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus are informally known as cruciferous vegetables, cabbages, or mustard plants. Crops from this genus are sometimes called cole crops—derived from the Latin caulis, denoting the stem or stalk of a plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pupa</span> Life stage of some insects undergoing transformation

A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages thereof being egg, larva, pupa, and imago. The processes of entering and completing the pupal stage are controlled by the insect's hormones, especially juvenile hormone, prothoracicotropic hormone, and ecdysone. The act of becoming a pupa is called pupation, and the act of emerging from the pupal case is called eclosion or emergence.

<i>Pieris rapae</i> Species of butterfly

Pieris rapae is a small- to medium-sized butterfly species of the whites-and-yellows family Pieridae. It is known in Europe as the small white, in North America as the cabbage white or cabbage butterfly, on several continents as the small cabbage white, and in New Zealand as the white butterfly. The butterfly is recognizable by its white color with small black dots on its wings, and it can be distinguished from P. brassicae by its larger size and the black band at the tip of its forewings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabbage moth</span> Species of moth

The cabbage moth is primarily known as a pest that is responsible for severe crop damage of a wide variety of plant species. The common name, cabbage moth, is a misnomer as the species feeds on many fruits, vegetables, and crops in the genus Brassica. Other notable host plants include tobacco, sunflower, and tomato, making this pest species particularly economically damaging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabbage looper</span> Species of moth

The cabbage looper is a medium-sized moth in the family Noctuidae, a family commonly referred to as owlet moths. Its common name comes from its preferred host plants and distinctive crawling behavior. Cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, bok choy, and broccoli, are its main host plant; hence, the reference to cabbage in its common name. The larva is called a looper because it arches its back into a loop when it crawls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthomyiidae</span> Family of flies

The Anthomyiidae are a large and diverse family of Muscoidea flies. Most look rather like small houseflies, but are commonly drab grey. The genus Anthomyia, in contrast, is generally conspicuously patterned in black-and-white or black-and-silvery-grey. Most are difficult to identify, apart from a few groups such as the kelp flies that are conspicuous on beaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beneficial weed</span> Invasive plant with positive effects

A beneficial weed is an invasive plant that has some companion plant effect, is edible, contributes to soil health, adds ornamental value, or is otherwise beneficial. These plants are normally not domesticated. However, some invasive plants, such as dandelions, are commercially cultivated in addition to growing in the wild. Beneficial weeds include many wildflowers, as well as other weeds that are commonly removed or poisoned. Certain weeds that have obnoxious and destructive qualities have been shown to fight illness and are thus used in medicine. For example, Parthenium hysterophorus native to northern Mexico and parts of the US has been an issue for years due to its toxicity and ability to spread rapidly. In the past few decades, though, research has found that P. hysterophorus was "used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation, pain fever and diseases like malaria dysentery." It is also known to create biogas that can be used as a bioremediation agent to break down heavy metals and other pollutants.

<i>Delia</i> (fly) Genus of flies

Delia flies are members of the Anthomyiidae family within the superfamily Muscoidae. The identification of different species of Delia can be very difficult for non-specialists as the diagnostic characteristics used for immature and/or female specimens may be inconsistent between species. Past taxonomic keys were not as comprehensive in their identification of Delia specimens; they were either too reliant on genetic characteristics, focused solely on a specific life stage, or were focused only on certain species. However current taxonomic keys aim to be more thorough by not only including morphological diagnostics for males, females, and immature specimens of various species, but also their genetic make-up or molecular barcode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamondback moth</span> Species of moth

The diamondback moth, sometimes called the cabbage moth, is a moth species of the family Plutellidae and genus Plutella. The small, grayish-brown moth sometimes has a cream-colored band that forms a diamond along its back. The species may have originated in Europe, South Africa, or the Mediterranean region, but it has now spread worldwide.

<i>Delia radicum</i> Species of fly

Delia radicum, known variously as the cabbage fly, cabbage root fly, root fly or turnip fly, is a pest of crops. The larvae of the cabbage root fly are sometimes known as the cabbage maggot or root maggot. The adult flies are about 1 cm long and are grey in colour, but otherwise resemble the common house fly.

<i>Helicoverpa punctigera</i> Species of moth

Helicoverpa punctigera, the native budworm, Australian bollworm or Chloridea marmada, is a species of moth in the family Noctuidae. This species is native to Australia. H. punctigera are capable of long-distance migration from their inland Australian habitat towards coastal regions and are an occasional migrant to New Zealand.

<i>Eurydema oleracea</i> Species of true bug

Eurydema oleracea is a species of shield bug in the family Pentatomidae and is commonly known as the rape bug, the crucifer shield bug, the cabbage bug or the brassica bug.

<i>Spodoptera eridania</i> Species of moth

Spodoptera eridania is a moth that is known to be a pest. They are one of the most important defoliators in the tropical and subtropical regions of the western hemisphere that feed heavily on plants while they are young, often resulting in skeleton leaves on their food plants. They are also heavy feeders on tomato in Florida. There is a lot of development in producing pesticides against the S. eridania, specifically a neem-based pesticide that can result in smaller and prolonged development. The wingspan is 33–38 mm. Adults are on wing year-round. The larvae feed on various weeds but prefer Amaranthus species and Phytolacca americana.

<i>Ascia</i> Monotypic butterfly genus in family Pieridae

Ascia is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Ascia monuste, commonly known as the great southern white, In this species the sexes may differ with the female being either light or dark colored. It is found from the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, and south to Argentina. It is migratory along the south-eastern coast of the United States, with strays to Maryland, Kansas, and Colorado.

<i>Delia antiqua</i> Species of insect

Delia antiqua, commonly known as the onion fly, is a cosmopolitan pest of crops. The larvae or maggots feed on onions, garlic, and other bulbous plants.

<i>Hylobius transversovittatus</i> Species of beetle

Hylobius transversovittatus is a species of weevil in the family Curculionidae. It is native to the Old World where both adults and larvae feed on purple loosestrife. This plant is regarded as an invasive species in North America and the weevil has been introduced into both the United States and Canada in an effort to control the plant.

<i>Lipaphis erysimi</i> Species of true bug

Lipaphis erysimi is a species of aphid of the family Aphididae. Its common names include mustard aphid and turnip aphid. It is found in most temperate and tropical areas of the world and feeds only on cruciferous plants. The insects are almost exclusively female and are very prolific, with wingless females producing around one hundred young during a lifespan of a few weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gnat</span> Any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera

A gnat is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. They can be both biting and non-biting. Most often they fly in large numbers, called clouds. "Gnat" is a loose descriptive category rather than a phylogenetic or other technical term, so there is no scientific consensus on what constitutes a gnat. Some entomologists consider only non-biting flies to be gnats. Certain universities and institutes also distinguish eye gnats: the Smithsonian Institution describes them as "non-biting flies, no bigger than a few grains of salt, ... attracted to fluids secreted by your eyes".

<i>Anastrepha fraterculus</i> South American fruit fly

Anastrepha fraterculus, known as the South American fruit fly, is a fruit fly species from the genus Anastrepha. A. fraterculus is a polyphagous, frugivorous fly that is a significant pest of commercial fruit production in South America.

References

  1. Chandler, Peter J. (1998). "Checklists of Insects of the British Isles (New Series) Part 1: Diptera". Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. 12. Royal Entomological Society: 1–234.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 AgroAtlas
  3. 1 2 HYPP Zoology
  4. Behavioural and chemosensory responses of the turnip root fly (Delia floralis) to glucosinolates.
  5. Mortality of Delia floralis, Galleria mellonella and Mamestra brassicae treated with insect pathogenic hyphomycetous fungi.
  6. Björkman, Maria; Hopkins, Richard J.; Rämert, Birgitta (2008). "Combined Effect of Intercropping and Turnip Root Fly (Delia floralis) Larval Feeding on the Glucosinolate Concentrations in Cabbage Roots and Foliage". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 34 (10): 1368–1376. doi:10.1007/s10886-008-9533-0. PMID   18779999. S2CID   23128779.