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