scholarly journals First characterization of a taxonomically well‑resolved trophic network composed by host plants and gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in the Neotropical region

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 ◽  
pp. e20216134
Author(s):  
Walter Santos de Araújo ◽  
Valéria Cid Maia

In the present study we described the structure of a trophic network composed by gall-midge species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) and their host plants in the Restinga of Barra de Maricá (Maricá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Species data were retrieved from literature and different topological descriptors (links per species, connectance, and modularity of interactions) were used. All gall-midge species were monophages, with connectance of 2.8% of the 2,016 possible interactions. The network of host plants and gall midges had low number of links per species and high modularity, which indicates high specificity and specialization of plant-galling interactions in the area. This is the first characterization of a trophic network with good taxonomic resolution for the Neotropical gall midges.

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Cristina Gomes ◽  
Maíce Siqueira Franco ◽  
Christer Hansson

A tritrophic relationship involving the plant Croton floribundusSpreng (Euphorbiaceae), an unidentified gall-midge belonging to eitherClinodiplosis Kieffer 1895 or Alycaulus Rübsaamen 1916 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), and a new species of parasitic wasp belonging toOmphale Haliday 1833 (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is described. The gall andOmphale japii sp. nov., are described and illustrated. This is the third record ofOmphale from Brazil and the new species is compared to otherOmphale species from the Neotropical region.


Insects ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Netta Dorchin ◽  
Stephany van Munster ◽  
Cornelia Klak ◽  
Rauri C. K. Bowie ◽  
Jonathan F. Colville

Aizoaceae (Caryophyllales) constitute one of the major floral components of the unique Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR), with more than 1700 species and 70% endemism. Within succulent Aizoaceae, the subfamily Ruschioideae is the most speciose and rapidly diversifying clade, offering potential niches for the diversification of specialized herbivorous insects. Nevertheless, insect diversity on these plants has not been studied to date, and knowledge of gall-inducing insects in the Afrotropics is generally scarce. Our recent observations indicate that succulent Aizoaceae in the GCFR support a rich and largely unstudied community of gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Here, we provide a first report of their diversity with a description of a new genus, Ruschiola Dorchin, and ten new species, based on morphological and molecular analyses of material collected during a three-year targeted survey across major GCFR vegetation types. A high degree of morphological uniformity in Ruschiola suggests recent diversification and necessitated the use of molecular data and laboratory rearing from host plants to verify species boundaries and host ranges.


Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beata Zimowska ◽  
Sylwia Okoń ◽  
Andrea Becchimanzi ◽  
Ewa Dorota Krol ◽  
Rosario Nicoletti

In the last decade, Botryosphaeria dothidea has been steadily reported as an associate of gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) in a variety of host plants and ecological settings. This cosmopolitan fungus is well-known for its ability to colonize many plant species, as both a pathogen and an endophyte. Thus, the shift from this general habit to a lifestyle involving a strict symbiotic relationship with an insect introduces expectancy for possible strain specialization which could reflect separated phylogenetic lineages. Considering the recent taxonomic revision concerning species of Botryosphaeria, we evaluated the phylogenetic relationships among strains recovered from Asphondylia galls collected on several species of Lamiaceae in Poland and in Italy, and all the currently accepted species in this genus. A number of strains previously characterized from gall samples from Australia and South Africa, whose genetic marker sequences are deposited in GenBank, were also included in the analysis. As a result, full identity as B. dothidea is confirmed for our isolates, while strains from the southern hemisphere grouped separately, indicating the existence of genetic variation related to the geographic origin in the association with gall midges.


2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Jan Bodziarczyk ◽  
Marcin Widlak ◽  
Malwina Siwy

Abstract The yew gall midge Taxomyia taxi has been found for the first time in the Polish Carpathians. The site lies in the “Yews in Mogilno” (“Cisy w Mogilnie”) nature reserve in the western part of the Beskid Niski (Low Beskid) Mountains. The species occurs over an area of ca. 37 ha, mostly in the northern, lowest-lying parts of the reserve. 19.4% of the inspected specimens of the European yew were found to exhibit signs of feeding by gall midges. Most of the infested yews (86.7%) were barren, 8.2% were females and 5.1% males. The yew gall midges displayed no clear preferences in relation to the health status of the host plants, although yews with a healthier photosynthetic apparatus were selected more often.


2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Yukawa ◽  
N. Uechi ◽  
M. Horikiri ◽  
M. Tuda

AbstractThe soybean pod gall midge is an important pest of soybean in Japan and is known to occur also in Indonesia and China. This gall midge is described from Japan as Asphondylia yushimaisp. n. and is clearly distinguished from its congeners by the arrangement of the lower frontal horns of the pupa and the sequence of the mtDNA COI region. It is concluded that Prunus zippeliana Miquel is a winter host of the soybean pod gall midge since haplotypes of the soybean pod gall midge coincide with those of the Prunus fruit gall midge that produces fruit galls on P. zippeliana. In addition, phenological and distributional information on the two gall midges and on their host plants supports the identification of the winter host. In Japan, the soybean pod gall midge overwinters as a first instar in the fruit galls on P. zippeliana and emerges as an adult from the galls in May. In summer and autumn, the soybean pod gall midge has two or more generations in the pods of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill or wild fabaceous and caesalpiniaceous plants. Thus host alternation by A. yushimai is confirmed. This is the second finding of host alternation by a species of Asphondylia, the first instance being that of Asphondylia gennadii (Marchal) in Cyprus.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4232 (4) ◽  
pp. 582 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUCAS RODRIGO DOS SANTOS ◽  
ITAMAR ALVES MARTINS

Scinax hayii was described in 1909 from the municipality of Petrópolis, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Morphological variation and advertisement calls have been previously reported for other populations across the species distribution (Lutz 1973; Heyer et al. 1990; Cardoso & Andrade 1991; Pombal et al. 1995; Magrini et al. 2011; Abrunhosa et al. 2014). However, no information on calls are available from specimens recorded at the type locality, preventing the correct characterization of the species (Magrini et al. 2011). Here we describe the advertisement call and a second call type of S. hayii from Petrópolis, as a contribution towards a better understanding of the taxonomy of this species. 


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andressa Cristhy Buch ◽  
Maria Elizabeth Fernandes Correia ◽  
Daniel Cabral Teixeira ◽  
Emmanoel Vieira Silva-Filho

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 727-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscila Tolentino Campos ◽  
Maria Cecília Dias Costa ◽  
Rosy Mary dos Santos Isaias ◽  
Ana Sílvia Franco Pinheiro Moreira ◽  
Denis Coelho de Oliveira ◽  
...  

Although gall diversity in the Neotropical region is immense, comparative studies on the phenology of host plants and their galls are scarce. Gall systems generally require high levels of phenological synchrony between the associated organisms. The relationships between the phenology of two leaf galls induced by an unidentified Cecidomyiidae in Aspidosperma spruceanum Benth. ex Müell. Arg. and by Pseudophacopteron sp. in A. australe Müell. Arg. were investigated. The investigation was performed on ten individuals per species in 15-day intervals taking into consideration the percentage of galled leaves. In a one-year study, three distinct phenophases for the leaf galls and four phenophases for host plants were observed. The maximum percentage of leaf galls (80%) on A. australe occurred just after the peak of leaf sprouting. In A. spruceanum, the percentage of leaf galls was always over 50%, which can be related to continuous leaf production and gall induction in this species. In both species, developing galls were observed over the entire year, indicating multivoltinism. The ability to induce galls at young and mature sites seems to be a good strategy for galling species survivorship.


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