Iteomyia major

Iteomyia major is a gall midge which forms galls on willows (Salix species). It was first described by Jean-Jacques Kieffer in 1889.

Iteomyia major
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Cecidomyiidae
Genus: Iteomyia
Species:
I. major
Binomial name
Iteomyia major
(Kieffer, 1889)
Synonyms

Oligotrophus major Kieffer, 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.[1] Each gall has a single larva, initially white and later orange or red.[2] There is a single generation each year and pupation takes place in the soil.[3] 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).[3]

Similar species

Iteomyia capreae 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.[1]

Distribution

Recorded from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and the Netherlands.[2][3]

References
  1. Chinery, Michael (2011). Britain's Plant Galls. Old Basing: WildGuides Ltd. p. 62. ISBN 978 190365743 0.
  2. Redfern, Margaret; Shirley, Peter; Boxham, Michael (2011). British Plant Galls (Second ed.). Shrewsbury: Field Study Council. pp. 282–299. ISBN 978 185153 284 1.
  3. Ellis, W N. "Iteomyia major (Kieffer, 1889)". Plant Parasites of Europe. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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