Goldenrod gall fly

Goldenrod gall fly
E. solidaginis female
E. solidaginis puparium
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tephritidae
Subfamily: Tephritinae
Tribe: Dithrycini
Genus: Eurosta
Species:
E. solidaginis
Binomial name
Eurosta solidaginis
(Fitch, 1855)[1]
Synonyms
  • Ortalis nuphera Harris, 1835[2]
  • Tephritis asteris Harris, 1841[3]
  • Acinia solidaginis Fitch, 1855[1]
  • Eurosta asteri Johnson, 1930[4]
  • Eurosta subfascipennis Strickland, 1938[5]

The goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis), also known as the goldenrod ball gallmaker, is a species of fly native to North America. The species is best known for the characteristic galls it forms on several species in the Solidago, or goldenrod, genus. The fly's eggs are inserted near the developing buds of the plant. After hatching, the larvae migrate to an area below the plant's developing buds, where they then induce the plant's tissues to form into the hardened, bulbous chamber referred to as a gall. E. solidaginis’s interactions with its host plant(s) and insect, as well as avian, predators have made it the centerpiece of much ecological and evolutionary biology research, and its tolerance of freezing temperatures has inspired studies into the anti-freeze properties of its biochemistry.

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Harris, T.W. (1841). A report on insects of Massachusetts, injurious to vegetation. [1st edition]. Cambridge: Folsom, Wells & Thurston. pp. viii + 459.
  4. ^ Johnson, C.W. (1930). "A list of the insect fauna of Nantucket, Massachusetts". Publ. Nantucket Maria Mitchell Assoc. 3 (2): 1–174.
  5. ^ Strickland, E.H. (1938). "An annotated list of the Diptera (flies) of Alberta". Canadian Journal of Research. 16 (7): 175–219. doi:10.1139/cjr38d-012.