Species Displacements are Common to Two Invasive Species of Leafminer Fly in China, Japan, and the United States

Under field conditions, species displacements have occurred in different directions between the same invasive species of leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae). Liriomyza sativae (Blanchard) was displaced by L. trifolii (Burgess) in the western United States, with evidence suggesting that lower insecticide susceptibility of L. trifolii is a factor. However, in Japan, the opposite has occurred, as L. trifolii was recently displaced by L. sativae. This displacement is probably because of the higher fecundity of L. sativae and differential effects of parasitoids on the two leafminer species. Here, we carried out long-term surveys of these same two invasive leafminer species during January through March in 1999, 2007, and 2011, as well as June through July in 2011, in eight locations (Sanya, Dongfang, Haikou, Leidong, Lingshui, Wuzhisan, Qionghai, and Danzhou) across Hainan Island of southern China. Our results indicate that, between 2007 and 2011, L. trifolii rapidly replaced L. sativae as the predominant leafminer of vegetables on Hainan Island, similar to the situation in the western United States. Further surveys of growers revealed that avermectins and cyromazine are the two most frequently used insecticides against leafminers on Hainan Island. Dose-mortality tests showed that L. trifolii populations from Hainan Island are less susceptible to avermectins and cyromazine compared with L. sativae populations. This lower insecticide susceptibility of L. trifolii may be associated with the displacement of L. sativae by L. trifolii, although additional ecological or environmental factors cannot be ruled out.