''Rabdophaga dubiosa'' is a

gall midge Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small insects us ...

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 young shoots of

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

(''Salix'' species).

Description

The gall is a pear-shaped swelling about long on a young shoot. The swelling is broader than that of the gall of '' R. karschi'' and contains individual larva in separate chambers that run together. The similar looking gall of ''R. pierreana'' only has one large chamber containing red larvae, while the larvae of ''dubiosa'' are yellow or light orange. Pupation takes place in the gall and the pupa does not have a tooth near the base of the antenna. In Britain, the gall has been recorded on eared willow ( ''S. aurita'') and creeping willow ( ''S. repens''). Elsewhere the gall has been found on ''S. alba'', ''S. caprea'', ''S. cinerea'', ''S. foetida'', ''S. helvetica'' and ''S. purpurea''.

Distribution

Found in the Czech Republic, Finland, Great Britain and Romania

References

dubiosa Nematoceran flies of Europe Gall-inducing insects Insects described in 1913 Taxa named by Jean-Jacques Kieffer Willow galls {{Bibionomorpha-stub