Spatial distributions of the leafminer Ophiomyia maura (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in host plant Aster ageratoides

The seasonal occurrence and among-plant and within-plant spatial distribution of the multivoltine leafminer Ophiomyia maura Meigen (Diptera: Agromyzidae) on the herbaceous plant Aster ageratoides Turcz. subsp. ovatus (Asteraceae) were investigated in the field. O. maura has at least four generations a year and mines per leaf fluctuate with a mean of 0.007 throughout the occurrence period. Seasonal occurrence is associated with abundance of new host leaves, suggesting O. maura females prefer to oviposit in newly emerged leaves. The among-plant distribution of O. maura is described by a Poisson distribution early in the season but tends to be weakly clumped later. The within-plant vertical distribution of larval mines increased from middle to upper leaves during plant development, because mined leaves in the middle position early in the season move downward with the emergence of new leaves, shifting mined leaves from the position where O. maura oviposits eggs. Later in the season, mined leaves remain where they are deposited because few new leaves emerge. The spatial distribution of O. maura, resource utilization patterns, and host plant characteristics are discussed.