''Rabdophaga karschi'' 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 twigs of

sallows Sallows is a fell in the English Lake District, rising between the valleys of Kentmere and Troutbeck. It is the highest point in the upland area to the south of Garburn Pass, variously termed Kentmere Park and Applethwaite Common on Ordnance S ...

(''Salix'' species).

Description

The genus ''Salix'' supports many galls, some of which are difficult to identify, particularly those caused by the gall midges in the genus ''Rabdophaga''. ''R. karschi'' forms galls on the twigs of sallows. The gall is an approximately 3 mm wide, slender, spindle-shaped swelling of a twig. There is one red larva or a pupa and the larva makes an exit hole in the galled stem or occasionally in a bud.

Distribution

The gall has been found in the Czech Republic, Great Britain and the Netherlands.

Notes

References

karschi Nematoceran flies of Europe Gall-inducing insects Insects described in 1891 Taxa named by Jean-Jacques Kieffer Willow galls {{Bibionomorpha-stub