Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Eurosta solidaginis - Goldenrod Gall Fly

Eurosta solidaginis? - Eurosta solidaginis possible tephritid - Eurosta solidaginis Tephritidae, Goldenrod Gall Fly - Eurosta solidaginis Tephritidae, Goldenrod Gall Fly, dorsal - Eurosta solidaginis Goldenrod Gall Fly - Eurosta solidaginis Goldenrod Gall Fly - Eurosta solidaginis Goldenrod Gall Fly (Eurosta solidaginis)? - Eurosta solidaginis Goldenrod Gall Fly (Eurosta solidaginis)? - Eurosta solidaginis
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Acalyptratae")
Superfamily Tephritoidea
Family Tephritidae (Fruit Flies)
Subfamily Tephritinae
Tribe Dithrycini
Genus Eurosta
Species solidaginis (Goldenrod Gall Fly)
Other Common Names
Goldenrod Spherical Gall Fly, Tephritid Fly
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Acinia solidaginis Fitch, 1855
=Tephritis asteris Harris, 1841
=Ortalis nuphera Harris, 1835
Explanation of Names
Eurosta solidaginis (Fitch, 1855)
Specific epithet refers to the host plant, Solidago (Goldenrod)
Numbers
2 subspecies: one eastern (nominate) and one western (E. s. fascipennis)(1)
Size
7-9 mm
Identification
Galls distinctive
Range
Much of North America, from Northwest Territory south to British Columbia, Kansas, Carolinas.
Season
Apr-May
Life Cycle
Larvae form round galls on the stem of certain Solidago spp., feed there, and pupate in early spring; adults emerge in April-May(2)
Remarks
Some parasitoids listed at(3)
See Also
Goldenrod Elliptical-Gall Moth: similar gall, same host:
Works Cited
1.Handbook of the Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of America North of Mexico
Richard H. Foote, P. L. Blanc, Allen L. Norrbom. 1993. Cornell University Press (Comstock Publishing).
2.Guide to Observing Insect Lives
Donald W. Stokes. 1983. Little, Brown, and Company.
3.From goldenrod round galls