Genus Asphondylia - Bud gall midges

Cecidomyia (Asphondylia) Loew 1850

Nearctica lists 85 species.

The needle-like ovipositor is nearly as long as the abdomen and composed of chitin.(1)

Leaf or fruit buds of many plants.(1)

"Asphondylia species mostly form galls on flowers or flower buds and prevent fruiting in a great many families of plants, but some form complex galls on other plant parts. All are associated with symbiotic fungi. Some species are of economic importance, e.g., A. websteri and A. gennadii and include those that affect buds and have alternate or multiple hosts. Some species alternate generations between two parts of a single plant species, e.g., A. rudbeckiaeconspicua, that forms a winter crown gall at the base of the plant and a summer flower bud gall. Many species groups within this genus are the result of radiation on particular plant genera, e.g. Atriplex and Larrea, and are closely host specific."(2)