''Iteomyia major'' is a
gall midge which forms
gall
Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...
s on
willows (''Salix'' species). It was
first described by
Jean-Jacques Kieffer in 1889.
Description of the gall
The gall is a coalesced group of 2–10 hard round galls, on the midrib or side vein and are equally prominent on either side of the leaf.
Each gall has a single larva, initially white and later orange or red.
There is a single generation each year and pupation takes place in the soil.
Females prefer to lay their eggs on the ″broad-leaf willows″ and the galls are found on sallows, or their hybrids, which include bay willow (
''S. pentandra''), bitter willow (
''S. elaeagnos''), dark-leaved willow (
''S. myrsinifolia''), eared willow (
''S. aurita''), goat willow (
''S. caprea''), gray willow (
''S. glauca''), grey willow (
''S. cinerea), purple willow (
''S. purpurea''), tea-leaved willow (
''S. phylicifolia'') and woolly willow (
''S. lanata'').
Similar species
''
Iteomyia capreae
''Iteomyia capreae'' is a gall midge which forms galls on willows (''Salix'' species). It was first described by Johannes Winnertz
Johannes Winnertz (11 February 1800 – 24 July 1890) was a German entomologist specialising in Diptera.
H ...
'' galls are small, hard, green pouches, up to 4 mm in diameter and, as they mature, have a reddish or purplish tinge. They are not as prominent on the lower leaf surface, having red-rimmed conical pores.
Distribution
Recorded from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the Netherlands.
References
External links
Nature spot
*
Cecidomyiidae
Nematoceran flies of Europe
Gall-inducing insects
Insects described in 1889
Taxa named by Jean-Jacques Kieffer
Willow galls
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