Abstract

LOMELI-FLORES, J. Refugio  and  TEPATO-BARBA, Jovani. New country record and notes on leaf miners in trees of Salix bonplandiana Kunth (Malpighiales: Salicaceae) in Texcoco, Mexico State. Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2022, vol.38, e3812460.  Epub Sep 19, 2022. ISSN 2448-8445.  https://doi.org/10.21829/azm.2022.3812460.

The study of leaf miners in Mexico is relatively scarce, only those species of agricultural importance have been addressed, leaving aside those that do not represent a considerable damage in wild and ornamental species. In the present study, miner collections were carried out on one of the common trees in parks and gardens in Texcoco, Mexico State, the “Bonpland willow”, Salix bonplandiana. From more than 500 mines, four species of miners could be recognized. The most abundant species (83.9 % of the collected specimens) was Leucoptera albella, followed by Phyllocnistis sp. with 7.3 % and Phyllonorycter sp. with 3.4 %; finally, the less abundant species, with only 0.5 % was Stigmella sp. The first species represent new record for Mexico, and new record of plant host. In L. albella, 9 % of the larvae and 17 % of the pupae showed death due to parasitism. In larvae, no predator mortality was detected, but in pupae 10 % died from this factor. In both stages of development, 33 % of the collected organisms were dead due to unknown factors not attributable to parasitism or predation. This study reaffirms that leaf miners have high mortality rates due to biotic and abiotic factors.

Keywords : Ahuehjote; Lyonetiidae; Gracillariidae; new host record.