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

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
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
Upcoming Events

See Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera) » Gnats, Gall Midges, and March Flies (Bibionomorpha) » Fungus Gnats and Gall Midges (Sciaroidea) » Gall Midges and Wood Midges (Cecidomyiidae)

Family Cecidomyiidae - Gall Midges and Wood Midges

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited
More goldenrod gall fauna - Asteromyia carbonifera Tiny Pale Thing Unid Leafminer WWsc9 - Asteromyia carbonifera St. Andrews leaf gall on Quercus margaretta SA_G59 2016 2 - Polystepha ceanothus bud gall midge - Asphondylia ceanothi galls on box elder - Contarinia negundinis Mosquito? - Asphondylia - female East Lake leaf miner on Baccharis halimifolia D3881 2022 4 - Asteromyia
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera))
Infraorder Bibionomorpha (Gnats, Gall Midges, and March Flies)
Superfamily Sciaroidea (Fungus Gnats and Gall Midges)
Family Cecidomyiidae (Gall Midges and Wood Midges)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Itonididae
taxonomy here is adopted from Gagné & Jaschhof 2021 (1) who have expanded the family from the traditional 2-3 subfamilies to six
Explanation of Names
Cecidomyiidae Newman 1835
Numbers
Well over 1000 described species in ~190 genera in our area(2), ~6300 species in ~760 genera worldwide(3)(4); actual numbers are expected to be much higher: the estimated Canadian fauna alone contains ~1600 species(5)
Size
1-5 mm (some up to 8 mm)(2)
Identification
Minute, delicate flies with long legs and usually relatively long antennae, and with reduced wing venation(6)
Food
Most are gall makers. Others feed on plants. A few live on decaying matter, some are predators, a few, parasitic; some live as ant/termite inquilines(2)
Life Cycle
in several genera, larvae reproduce (paedogenesis); this seems to be restricted to fungus-feeding forms(2)
Remarks
the Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) is an important pest of wheat; another pest is the midge of red clover Dasineura leguminicola. Among the ones that feed on aphids Aphidoletes aphidimyza is used as a biocontrol. Some species may reproduce without reaching the adult stage (paedogenesis)(7)
Print References
(8)(9)
Works Cited
1.Update for a catalog of the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) of the world. Digital version 1.
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
3.USDA Diptera Site (now closed)
4.Order Diptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification...
Pape T., Blagoderov V., Mostovski M.B. 2011. Zootaxa 3148: 222–229.
5.Insects: Their Natural History And Diversity: With a Photographic Guide to Insects of Eastern North America
Stephen A. Marshall. 2006. Firefly Books Ltd.
6.Borror and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects
Norman F. Johnson, Charles A. Triplehorn. 2004. Brooks Cole.
7.The larvae of the gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae): comparative morphology, biology, keys
B.M. Mamaev & N.P. Krivosheina. 1993. Rev. ed. Rotterdam: Balkema. 293 pp.
8.The Plant-Feeding Gall Midges of North America
Raymond J. Gagné. 1989. Cornell University Press.
9.The gall midges of California [Diptera: Itonididae (Cecidomyiidae)]
Pritchard A.E. 1953. Bull. Calif. Insect Survey 2: 125-150.
Contributed by john and jane balaban on 31 October, 2004 - 3:39pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Vox Sciurorum, ceiseman, v belov
Last updated 2 November, 2022 - 9:35am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2023 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact