Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Genus Urophora

Small fly with striking wings - Urophora cardui Fruit fly - Urophora Rhagoletis? - Urophora cardui Knapweed Gall Fly - Urophora affinis - female Four-barred Knapweed Gall Fly - NS - Urophora - female Fruit fly - Urophora Gall on Cirsium, opened - Urophora cardui tephritid - Urophora cardui - male
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 Myopitini
Genus Urophora
Explanation of Names
Urophora Robineau-Desvoidy 1830
Numbers
7 introduced spp. in our area, ~60 spp. total(1)

Urophora affinis (Frauenfeld, 1857)
Urophora cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)
Urophora jaceana (Hering, 1935)
Urophora quadrifasciata (Meigen, 1826)
Urophora sirunaseva (Hering, 1938)
Urophora solstitialis (Linaeus, 1758)
Urophora stylata (Fabricius, 1775)

Urophora jaculata was introduced to California in 1990's, but did not establish.
Identification
Only one other genus in the family has vein CuA2 straight or bowed out towards the wing tip.
Range
native to the Palaearctic (all the spp. but one occur there), introduced as weed biocontrol agents to NA(1)(2)
Life Cycle
Some (all?) spp. overwinter in galls as third instar larvae
Remarks
Several spp. have been introduced as biocontrols of non-native thistles and knapweeds (including the Yellow Starthistle Gall Fly, U. sirunaseva). U. kasachstanica & U. xanthippe are planned for release in w. US to control Russian knapweed(2)(3)