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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
Hackberry Gall (small hairy with exoskeleton) - Celticecis capsularis Wood Midge - Catocha betsyae - female Unid Leafminer WPsp5 - Asteromyia leaf miner - Sackenomyia commota Gall midge from boneset Equisetum midge - Lasioptera Larva - Diptera - Bibionomorpha - Sciaroidea – Gall Midges and Wood Midges - Cecidomyiidae - Winnertziinae Midge-ish ~3mm
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

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