Opomyza florum

Opomyza florum, common name yellow cereal fly or grass fly, is a species of acalyptrate flies.

Opomyza florum
Female of Opomyza florum
Scientific classification
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O. florum
Binomial name
Opomyza florum
(Fabricius, 1794)

Description and ecology

Opomyza florum can reach a length of 3.5–5 mm. These small flies are rusty-yellow coloured, with several dark setae on mesonotum and scutellum. Eyes are reddish. Wings are yellowish and transparent, with some smoky-brown spots. The larval main food plants are wild cereals, leguminous and cereal crops. Larvae are oligophagous stem borer, feeding on the stems of plants. They can be found in early spring while adults fly at the end of May–June until October. This species is an agricultural pest, damaging winter cereals such as wheat, barley and rye.

Distribution

This species occurs in all of Europe.

Habitat

It can be found in meadows and fields of cereal crops.

References

  • Drake, C.M. 1993. A review of the British Opomyzidae. British Journal of Entomology and Natural History 6: 159-176.
  • G. P. Vickerman - Distribution and abundance of adult Opomyza florum (Diptera: Opomyzidae) in cereal crops and grassland - Annals of Applied Biology, Volume 101, Issue 3, pages 441–447, December 1982
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