Hackberry Aciculate Gall Midge

celticecis aciculata

The Hackberry Aciculate Gall Midge is a tiny insect that loves to live on hackberry trees! They create little bumps called galls on the leaves where they make their homes.

Lebensraum: Hackberry trees in forests and urban areas.

Aussehen

The Hackberry Aciculate Gall Midge is a tiny, mosquito-like fly, typically brown or gray. It has translucent wings and a delicate body, making it hard to spot without careful observation, unlike the spiky galls it creates.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungDipteraFamilieCecidomyiidaeGattungCelticecis

Hackberry Aciculate Gall Midge

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

0/5 · Keine bekannte Gefahr

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Each midge species often creates its own unique gall shape and size!

Imagine a tiny fly that can tell a giant tree exactly how to grow a spiky house!

Sometimes, a single hackberry leaf can be covered with hundreds of tiny midge galls!

These amazing galls protect the midge larvae inside from hungry predators!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Hackberry Aciculate Gall Midge can manipulate hackberry trees to grow protective galls, creating a safe nursery for its larvae.

Hackberry Aciculate Gall Midge has specialized chemicals that trick host trees into forming its unique, spiky leaf galls.

Hackberry Aciculate Gall Midge can precisely lay eggs onto specific hackberry leaf tissues to ensure proper gall formation.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 2-5 mm
Größe: 1-3 mm
Lebenserwartung: 200-300 Tage
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

Larvae feed on hackberry leaf tissue, while adults typically do not feed during their short lives.

Altersunterschiede: Larvae feed on plant tissue; adults have vestigial mouthparts and may not feed.

Hauptnahrung

Hackberry leaf tissue
Hackberry sap
Plant cells

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

depends on

Common Hackberry

Celtis occidentalis

larvae feed and develop within its induced leaf galls.

eaten by

Gall Wasp

Torymus tubicola

wasp larvae parasitize midge larvae within the protective gall.

eaten by

Carolina Chickadee

Poecile carolinensis

chickadees may peck open galls to extract the developing larvae.

eaten by

European Garden Spider

Araneus diadematus

adult midges are sometimes caught in spiderwebs while flying.

Merkmale

Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger leben den größten Teil ihres Lebens allein und interagieren mit Artgenossen nur zur Paarung oder zur Aufzucht der Jungen.

Pflanzenfressend

Dieses Merkmal kennzeichnet Lebewesen, deren Ernährung vollständig oder hauptsächlich aus pflanzlichem Material besteht.

Wald

Waldlebensräume sind terrestrische Lebensräume, die von dichtem Baumbestand dominiert werden und eine große Vielfalt an Pflanzen- und Tierarten beherbergen.