''Rabdophaga clavifex'' 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 the buds of willow species. __TOC__

Description

The tree/shrub genus '' Salix'' supports many galls, some of which are difficult to identify, particularly those caused by the gall midges in the genus ''Rabdophaga''. ''R. clavifex'' causes a cluster of hairy buds with a club-like swelling at the tip of the shoot on sallows. Each bud contains a red or orange larva.

Distribution

Found in the following European countries; Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the UK ''R. clavifex'' has been found in Merseyside and Yorkshire.

References

clavifex Nematoceran flies of Europe Gall-inducing insects Insects described in 1891 Insect vectors of plant pathogens Taxa named by Jean-Jacques Kieffer Willow galls {{Bibionomorpha-stub