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Issue: Vol. 3955 No. 3: 5 May 2015
Type: Article
Published: 2015-05-05
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3955.3.5
Page range: 371–388
Abstract views: 23
PDF downloaded: 1

Taxonomy and biology of a new ambrosia gall midge Daphnephila urnicola sp. nov. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) inducing urn-shaped leaf galls on two species of Machilus (Lauraceae) in Taiwan

Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Department of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan .
Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, Saga 840-8502, Japan.
Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan.
Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan.
fungus gall tissue life cycle mycangia parasitoid

Abstract

Recent field surveys show that galls induced by Daphnephila spp. (Cecidomyiidae) on Machilus spp. (Lauraceae) are common in Taiwan, yet only five species, four leaf-gall inducers and one stem-gall inducer on M. thunbergii, have been named in the past. Here we describe a new species, Daphnephila urnicola sp. nov. Chiang, Yang & Tokuda, inducing urn-shaped galls on leaves of both M. zuihoensis and M. mushaensis. Comparisons of D. urnicola populations on M. zuihoensis and on M. mushaensis, indicate that they belong to one species, a result supported by gall midge morphology, life-history traits, gall shape and structure, the developmental process of gall tissues, fungal associations, and DNA-sequencing data. Size and structure of the gall operculum was found to differ between M. zuihoensis and M. mushahaensis.