Terellia tussilaginis
Terellia tussilaginis, the gall fly, is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.[1]
Terellia tussilaginis | |
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Terellia tussilaginis, female with ovipositor | |
Male | |
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Species: | T. tussilaginis |
Binomial name | |
Terellia tussilaginis (Fabricius, 1775) | |
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Distribution
This species is present in most of Europe, in European Russia and in the East Palearctic ecozone.[2][3]
Habitat
These flies inhabit meadows, gardens and where the host plants grow.
Description
Terellia tussilaginis can reach a body length of about 5 millimetres (0.20 in). These fruit flies have a pale green yellow body with distinctive brown banding on its wings.[4] The costal cell is completely hyaline. Katepisternum shows reddish spots. The anterior half of mesonotum is reddish to brown. Tergite 4 is usually black.[5]
Biology
Adults can be seen from June to August.[4] The larvae live in the flowerheads of Arctium lappa, Arctium minus, Arctium tomentosum and Cirsium vulgare, feeding on them and causing galls to form.[4][6][7]
References
Wikispecies has information related to Terellia tussilaginis. |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Terellia tussilaginis. |
- Biolib
- Fauna europaea
- 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
- Nature Spot
- V. A. Korneyev NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN TEPHRITIDAE (DIPTERA, CYCLORRHAPHA) FROM EUROPE Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine
- White, Ian. M. (1988). "Tephritid Flies". Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. London: Royal Entomological Society. 10 (Pt 5a): 1–134.
- iNaturalist