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Photo#331414
leaf mine on aster #2 - Ophiomyia parda

leaf mine on aster #2 - Ophiomyia parda
Yellow River State Forest, Harper's Ferry, Allamakee County, Iowa, USA
September 10, 2009
Linear mine on leaf of Drummond aster (Aster (Symphyotrichum) drummondii) in upland oak forest. View of upper leaf surface.

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leaf mine on aster #2 - Ophiomyia parda leaf mine on aster #2 - Ophiomyia parda

Moved
Moved from Ophiomyia.

Moved
Moved from Leaf Miner Flies.

Moved
Moved from Unidentified Leaf Mines. Spencer and Steyskal (1) list agromyzids of several genera that feed on asters.

Moved
Moved from ID Request. I suspect an agromyzid but I'm not 100% certain this isn't from a moth larva.

 
I agree
I agree that this is a dipteran mine. The moth possibilities for a serpentine mine of this type are Nepticulidae and Phyllocnistis, both of which can be ruled out. Virtually all spp. of Nepticulidae feed on woody plants, with no spp. being known to feed on Aster. Phyllocnistis does include spp. that feed on Asteraceae (e.g., Senecio, Arnoglossum) but not on Aster. Also, in all spp. of Phyllocnistis, the larva makes a pupal chamber at the distal end of the mine (not seen here); plus, P. insignis (the common Asteraceae-feeding Phyllocnistis species of the eastern USA) tends to crisscross each affected leaf with the mines of multiple larvae, rather than occurring as a single mine per leaf, as seen here.

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