Rhopalomyia hirtipes is a species of gall midges, insects in the family Cecidomyiidae. They are found in the eastern part of North American on buds and stems of Solidago juncea
| Rhopalomyia hirtipes | |
|---|---|
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| R. hirtipes gall | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Cecidomyiidae |
| Genus: | Rhopalomyia |
| Species: | R. hirtipes
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| Binomial name | |
| Rhopalomyia hirtipes (Osten Sacken, 1862)
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| Synonyms | |
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Gall and biology
editGalls of a this species form at the base of the stem in mid-June to mid-July, surrounded by a rosette of long leaves, and develop from vegetative buds. Young galls are wide at the base and have a tapered tip. As the gall matures, it becomes ovoid, 8-25mm long and 6-36mm wide, often changing its color from green to brownish. They contain 1-30 individual larvae in separate chambers, which face downwards while feeding. Before pupation in early August, the larvae turn to face upwards. The adult emerges from early to late September and galls are spongy, usually multi-chambered, and split open at the apex into several lobes. The galls can be difficult to locate, and were rare even in fields where S. juncea was the dominant plant.[1][2][3]
References
edit- ^ Dorchin, Netta; McEvoy, Miles V.; Dowling, Todd A.; Abrahamson, Warren G.; Moore, Joseph G. (July 2009). "Revision of the goldenrod-galling Rhopalomyia species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in North America" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2152 (2152): 1–35. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2152.1.1. S2CID 85821972.
- ^ Felt, Ephraim Porter (1917). "Key to American Insect Galls". New York State Museum Bulletin. 200: 95-97.
- ^ "Rhopalomyia hirtipes page". gallformers. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
Further reading
editexternal link to naturespot cecidomyiidae page
external link to inaturalist gall project
Gall-Inducing Insects: From Anatomy to Biodiversity[1]
A Catalog of the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) of the World[2]
 | This article related to members of the fly superfamily Sciaroidea is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- ^ Fernandes, G. W.; Carneiro, M. A. A.; Isaias, R. M. S. (March 2012). Gall-Inducing Insects: From Anatomy to Biodiversity (PDF). pp. 369–395. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
- ^ Gagné, Raymond J.; Jaschhof, Mathias (2017). "A Catalog of the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) of the World, Fourth Edition" (PDF). Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2018-03-27.