Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Help with Cecidomyiidae gall insects
#1
I collected some galls from green rabbitbrush (C. viridis) last summer in Santa Fe, NM. Out of about 40 galls of the same kind that I collected, I reared six or seven different species of Cecidomyiidae in a number of different genera. Sometimes 2 species would be in one gall, sometimes I reared only one species from a particular gall. I also got phorid flies, many different parasitic wasps, and all sorts of other insects and arachnids. I am way out of my usual element here. I've looked at Gagne's book and the gall I found is not in it. I have looked at a few articles about inquilines in galls, but have not seen a situation similar to mine. I am looking for some help with literature and also identification. To give some idea of the diversity, I attach a page from my field notebook in which I started to sketches of the bugs from these galls. Thanks for any help.
Linda
#2
The attachment did not attach. The system erases the attachment if the filename contains spaces, the size is too large, or you preview your post instead of immediately submitting. You can safely edit post after submitting with an attachment.
#3
I edited my thread with a smaller attachment. The notebook page is now visible. Thanks for the help.
Linda
#4
What's the full name of your C. viridis? I can't find a
viridis in
Chrysothamnus or
Ericameria.
#5
For galls not in Gagne's book you can try Ron Russo's
Field Guide to Plant Galls of California and Other Western States, or failing that, send specimens and/or photos to Gagne at the Smithsonian. The picture is too small for me to see all the details, but the wasp with the really long ovipositor is a torymid--unfortunately I don't know of anyone in the world who will examine specimens of those--and the bottom center one looks like a platygastrid (if so, you could send it to Peter Neerup Buhl in Denmark to ID). I might be able to say more about the others if I could see a larger version of this.
#6
Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus is the name I should have used. There are so many differences of opinion on species and subspecies in this group. This one is bright green, not the duller green of nauseosus, and quite tall.