Biology:Rabdophaga rigidae

From HandWiki
Short description: Species of fly

Rabdophaga rigidae
Rabdophaga rigidae gall mosbo6.jpg
Stem galls on Salix sp.
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Cecidomyiidae
Genus: Rabdophaga
Species:
R. rigidae
Binomial name
Rabdophaga rigidae
(Osten Sacken, 1862)
Synonyms[1]
  • Osten Sacken, 1878 Osten Sacken, 1862
  • Cecidomyia salicis Cecidomyia rigidae
  • Fitch, 1845 Cecidomyia siliqua

Rabdophaga rigidae, the willow beaked-gall midge, is a species of gall midge in the family Cecidomyiidae.[1][2] It is found across North America. Some sources state that it is also present in parts of eastern Asia including Japan; however, a 2006 study shows that the Asian populations likely represent a separate species: Rabdophaga salicivora.[3]

Life history

The larvae of this midge form galls as they develop in the terminal buds of willows. They overwinter in these galls and emerge in the spring as adults.[4]

In studies performed on Salix eriocarpa, it was found that plants colonized by the willow beaked-gall midge are stimulated to produce greater numbers of lateral shoots. This younger secondary growth in turn leads to increased herbivory by aphids such as Aphis farinosa and leaf beetles such as Plagiodera versicolora and Smaragdina semiaurantiaca.[5]

References

Further reading

Wikidata ☰ Q13623327 entry