Strobilomyia anthracina (Czerny, 1906)
on Picea
cephalic skeleton (from Dušek)
parasite
(Generally one) egg is deposited in the lower part of a young cone. The larva bores a spiralling gallery around the axis of the cone, destroying cone scales and developing seeds. Infected cones are curved and strongly resinous. Out of an opening in the concave side oozes a mixture of frass and resin. Around August the larvae leave the cone and pupate in the litter below he tree.
hostplants
Pinaceae, monophagous
Picea abies.
distribution within Europe
egg, puparium
described and illustrated by Dušek.
synonyms
Phorbia anthracina.
references
Brockerhoff & Kenis (1997a), Dušek (1969a), Michelsen (1988b).