South American Rice Miner (SARM) - Hydrellia wirthi (Korytkowski)
Injury is caused by the larva, which causes large, elongated lesions along the margins of emerging leaves. The larva mines the leaf or rasps the leaf surface before the leaf unfurls.
As the leaf expands, yellow damaged areas are more visible. Affected young leaves usually break off or display a ragged appearance.
The maggot continues to feed on the whorl tissue and enters the stem of developing plants.
Because of the damage to the whorl of rice plants, the SARM also is termed “whorl maggot” by several rice producers.
It is common to find more than one maggot in a single stem.
Affected seedling plants are killed or their growth is severely retarded.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture