Terellia tussilaginis

Terellia tussilaginis, the gall fly, is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.[1]

Terellia tussilaginis
Terellia tussilaginis, female with ovipositor
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Diptera
Section:
Schizophora
Subsection:
Acalyptratae
Superfamily:
Tephritoidea
Family:
Tephritidae
Subfamily:
Tephritinae
Tribe:
Terelliini
Genus:
Terellia
Subgenus:
Cerajocera
Species:
T. tussilaginis
Binomial name
Terellia tussilaginis
(Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
  • Musca arctii De Geer, 1776
  • Musca lappae Cederhielm, 1798
  • Musca tussilaginis Fabricius, 1775
  • Tephrytis impunctata Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830
  • Trupanea acanthi Schrank, 1803
  • Trupanea tanaceti Schrank, 1803

Distribution

This species is present in most of Europe, in European Russia and in the East Palearctic ecozone.[2][3]

Habitat

These flies inhabit meadows, gardens and where the host plants grow.

Description
Mating couple

Terellia tussilaginis can reach a body length of about 5 millimetres (0.20 in). These fruit flies have a pale green yellow body with distinctive brown banding on its wings.[4] The costal cell is completely hyaline. Katepisternum shows reddish spots. The anterior half of mesonotum is reddish to brown. Tergite 4 is usually black.[5]

Biology

Adults can be seen from June to August.[4] The larvae live in the flowerheads of Arctium lappa, Arctium minus, Arctium tomentosum and Cirsium vulgare, feeding on them and causing galls to form.[4][6][7]

References
  1. Biolib
  2. Fauna europaea
  3. Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. Catalogue of life
  4. Nature Spot
  5. V. A. Korneyev NEW AND LITTLE-KNOWN TEPHRITIDAE (DIPTERA, CYCLORRHAPHA) FROM EUROPE Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of the Ukraine
  6. White, Ian. M. (1988). "Tephritid Flies". Handbooks for the Identification of British Insects. London: Royal Entomological Society. 10 (Pt 5a): 1–134.
  7. iNaturalist


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