Pegomya curticornis (Stein, 1916)

Diptera, Anthomyiidae

on Euphorbia

gall

oviposition on the shoot tip, between the youngest leaves or in the inflorescence. During about a month the larve performs as a stem borer, tunnelling its way down to the underground base of the stem. Here the stem swells to an onion-like gall of about 1.5 cm high. The stem above the gall dies off. The larva lives for another 4-6 weeks in the gall, ultimately pupating there.

hostplants

Euphorbiaceae, nauw monophagous

Euphorbia esula & subsp. tommasiniana.

notes

deployed in North Americca in biological weed control.

references

Gassmann (1980a, 1989a), Gassmann & Shorthouse (1990a), Michelsen (1988a), Shorthouse & Gassman (1994a).

26/01/2017