Dispersal of adults of American Serpentine Leafminer, Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in fields

The dispersal of adults of Liriomyza trifolii in fields was studied using yellow sticky traps placed horizontally and vertically near an eggplant greenhouse severely infested by L. trifolii. The number of adults captured by the traps placed vertically 0.5-5.5 m above the ground decreased with increased trap height. The number of adults captured by traps at 5.5 m above the ground was from 0% to 0.2% of the total number of adults captured by all vertical traps. The number of adults captured by traps placed horizontally from east to west decreased with distance from the greenhouse. The number of adults captured by traps 48-m east of the greenhouse was from 1.4% to 1.9% of the total number of adults captured by all horizontal east traps. The sex of adults captured by traps was biased to males. The ratio of females was from 9.4% to 31.7% for vertical traps, and was from 9.1% to 29.9% for horizontal traps. Female ratio tended to decrease with the number of captured adults. There was a significant correlation between sex ratio and the number of captured adults.