Tephritis formosa

Tephritis formosa is a species of tephritid fly.[1] It is one of many species known commonly as gall fly.

Tephritis formosa
Tephritis formosa. Dorsal view
Side view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Diptera
Family:
Tephritidae
Genus:
Tephritis
Species:
T. formosa
Binomial name
Tephritis formosa
(Loew, 1844)
Range of Tephritis formosa in Europe
Synonyms
  • Trypeta formosa Loew, 1844

Distribution

This species is found in most countries across Europe (Albania, Andorra, Austria, Balearic Islands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Ireland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Ukraine) and it also occurs in the Near East (Turkey, Caucasus, Israel and Iran).[2][3][4]

Habitat

These flies inhabit a wide range of habitats, but mainly prefer meadows, grassland and urban gardens where the host plants grow.[5]

Description
Mating pair

The adult male of Tephritis formosa is 4 to 5 mm long with wings about 4 mm long. The females are about 5 to 6 mm in length with wings of about 4 to 5 mm. The thorax and the abdomen are brownish. The head shows yellow-reddish eyes. The abdomen of the females ends in a tapered ovipositor, while it is rather rounded in males. The legs are yellowish. These small flies have light beige wings with large dark brown markings and small hyaline areas. The apical fork is missing. There are only some brown spots at end of veins R4+5 and M.[4][6][5]

Biology

The host plants for the larva are hawksbeards (Crepis virens),[4] cat's ear (Hypochaeris radicata) [4][7] and sow-thistle (Sonchus olearius, Sonchus aspera, Sonchus arvensis).[4][5][8]

Larvae invade the flower heads, causing galls to form.[5][9]

References
  1. BioLib
  2. Fauna europaea
  3. Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. Catalogue of life
  4. Murat KÜTÜK The Fauna and Systematics of the Genus Tephritis Latreille, 1804 (Diptera: Tephritidae) with a Key to the Species of Tephritis in Turkey
  5. Nature Spot
  6. Ebrahim Zarghani, Samad Khaghaninia, Reza Farshbaf Pour Abad and Babak Gharali SYNOPSIS OF THE GENUS TEPHRITIS LATREILLE (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) IN IRAN
  7. Kutuk, M. (2005). "The fauna and systematics of the genus Tephritis Latreille, 1804 (Diptera: Tephritidae) with a key to the species of Tephritis in Turkey". Turkish Journal of Zoology. Ankara, Turkey: The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. 30: 345–356pp. ISSN 1303-6114.
  8. George C. Steyskal [Keys to The Insects of The European Part of The USSR]
  9. White, I. M. (1984). Tephritid Flies (Diptera: Tephritidea). Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. 10 pt 5a. Royal Entomological Society of London. pp. 134 pp. ISBN 0901546682.


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