About Liriomyza brassicae (Riley, 1885)
The serpentine leaf miner is the larval stage of the fly species Liriomyza brassicae, which belongs to the Agromyzidae family of leaf miner flies. This species feeds by creating mines within the tissues of both wild and cultivated plants, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and Chinese broccoli. It is distributed across the Pacific region, Africa, and the Americas. The complete life cycle of this fly lasts up to 21 days. Adult females lay eggs inside the leaf epidermis of host plants. Larvae hatch from the eggs within four days. The larvae are yellow or green, and go through three developmental instars. After developing as a pupa, the adult emerges: this adult is a gray fly marked with black and yellow spots. Liriomyza trifolii, the American serpentine leafminer, is a closely related species, and Liriomyza huidobrensis is also commonly called the serpentine leafminer. Another species in the same genus, Liriomyza commelinae, is widespread across the neotropics, pupates inside the leaf mine, and feeds mainly on plants in the genus Commelina.
