Goldenrod gall fly
Goldenrod gall fly | |
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E. solidaginis female | |
E. solidaginis puparium | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Family: | Tephritidae |
Subfamily: | Tephritinae |
Tribe: | Dithrycini |
Genus: | Eurosta |
Species: | E. solidaginis
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Binomial name | |
Eurosta solidaginis | |
Synonyms | |
The goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis), also known as the goldenrod ball gallmaker, is a species of
Taxonomy
Eurosta solidaginis is in the order Diptera and the family Tephritidae.[6] The Tephritidae are commonly referred to as fruit flies, a common name they share with the Drosophilidae family.[6] The goldenrod gall fly was first put into the genus Eurosta by D. W. Cocquillet in 1910.[7] Two subspecies exist: E. solidaginis subsp. solidaginis and E. solidaginis subsp. fascipennis, distinguished morphologically by differences in hyaline regions of the wing margin.[8] The former subspecies can be further subdivided into two host races, one of which forms galls in Solidago altissima and the other in S. gigantea.[9][10]
Distribution
E. solidaginis is widely distributed across the United States, ranging from Washington all the way to the eastern seaboard.[8][9] The two subspecies occupy different ranges, with E. solidaginis subsp. solidaginis being found from the east coast to Minnesota and the Dakotas, up to the southeastern provinces of Canada, and down the southern border of the United States.[8][9] E. solidaginis subsp. fascipennis, on the other hand, can be found as far west as Washington and as far east as Minnesota.[8]
Behavior and ecology
Adult E. solidaginis emerge from their galls in the spring, with the males emerging prior to the females.[11][12][13] The flies proceed to mate on goldenrod plants, and the females use their ovipositors to insert fertilized eggs into the buds of the goldenrod.[14][9]
Though E. solidaginis has been reported to form galls on seven different species of goldenrod, only three appear to be common targets: Solidago canadensis, S. gigantea and S. altissima.[9] Once the larvae hatch, typically between 5 and 8 days after the egg is laid, the larva eats its way to the base of the goldenrod bud and induces a gall.[9] These galls serve as food sources and shelters from rain, wind and ice.[9] Despite being the larva's overwintering structure, the gall itself does not provide significant insulation.[14][15] Instead, the larva itself has robust freezing tolerance. The larva feeds on the tissues of the gall and molts twice before excavating a narrow exit tunnel out of the gall in mid-September.[9] After digging its tunnel, without actually opening up the gall to the outside, the larva overwinters and, if it survives, molts into an adult and leaves the gall the following spring.[9]
A number of predators and parasites prey on the larvae of E. solidaginis. The black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) and the downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) target large galls, breaking them open and removing the larva living inside.[16][17] The parasitic wasps Eurytoma obtusiventris and E. gigantea also target the gallmaker. The former injects its eggs directly into E. solidaginis larvae prior to gall formation, whereas the latter oviposits into the gall itself.[12] In both cases, the E. solidaginis larvae are consumed. There is also Mordellistena unicolor, a beetle whose larvae, after hatching on the surface of a gall, burrow their way in and feed off of its nutritive tissues.[18] M. unicolor typically kills the E. solidaginis larva inhabiting the gall, but this does not appear to be an essential part of its life cycle.[9] One of the upshots of these interactions is that larvae that produce galls of a moderate size – that is, not small and thin enough for wasps to easily penetrate, but not large enough to attract the attention of birds – have a fitness advantage.[9] In addition to these direct, predatory interactions, a negative correlation has been observed between goldenrod defoliation by Trirhabda beetles, suggesting that competition for plant resources may also have an important role to play in the Eurosta/Solidago system.[19]
Physiology
The ability of E. solidaginis to survive the freezing temperatures of winter has been the subject of much research. In response to dropping temperatures and the senescence of surrounding plant tissues, the larva begins to synthesize and accumulate
References
- ^ a b Fitch, A. (1855). "Report on the noxious, beneficial and other insects of the State of New York. [I]". Transactions of the New-York State Agricultural Society. (1854) 14: 705–880.
- ^ Harris, T.W. (1835). Insects. Pp. 553-602. In Hitchcock, E., Report on the geology, mineralogy, botany, and zoology of Massachusetts. 2nd Edition. Amherst: J. S. & C. Adams. pp. [4] + 702 pp., 19 pls, 3 maps.
- ^ Harris, T.W. (1841). A report on insects of Massachusetts, injurious to vegetation. [1st edition]. Cambridge: Folsom, Wells & Thurston. pp. viii + 459.
- ^ Johnson, C.W. (1930). "A list of the insect fauna of Nantucket, Massachusetts". Publ. Nantucket Maria Mitchell Assoc. 3 (2): 1–174.
- .
- ^ a b Borror, D. J.; White, R. E. (1970). Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
- ^ Cocquillet, Daniel W. (1910). "The type species of the North American genera of Diptera" (PDF). Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 37. Government Printing Office: 534.
- ^ a b c d Ming, Y. (1989). A revision of the genus Eurosta Loew with a scanning microscopic study of taxonomic characters (Diptera: Tephritidae) (Master's thesis). Pullman, WA: Washington State University.
- ^ ISBN 9780691012087.
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- JSTOR 1941373.
- ^ JSTOR 1939179.
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- ^ a b Uhler, Lowell D. (1951). Biology and ecology of the goldenrod gall fly: Eurosta solidaginis (Fitch). Vol. 300. Cornell University Agricultural Station Memoir. pp. 1–51.
- .
- doi:10.5962/p.346636.
- S2CID 206777734.
- ^ Ping, Chi (1915). "Some inhabitants of the round gall of goldenrod". Journal of Entomology and Zoology: 161–179.
- S2CID 86758210.
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- ^ PMID 20005232.
- ^ PMID 18344486.
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- PMID 10742513.