Polystepha pilulae

Polystepha pilulae, the oak leaf gall midge, is a species of gall midge in the family Cecidomyiidae.^[1][2][3] It is found in eastern North America.^[4]

Polystepha pilulae
Polystepha pilulae galls on Quercus rubra
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Cecidomyiidae
Genus:	Polystepha
Species:	P. pilulae
Binomial name
Polystepha pilulae (Beutenmüller, 1892)
Synonyms[1]
Cincticornia pilulae Beutenmüller, 1892

Description of the gall

The larvae of this species of midge form circular galls that can be flat or convex. These form on the upper surface of oak leaves of the red oak group (Quercus sect. Lobatae), between the veins. The galls are thick-walled and reddish-brown in colour.^[5] They are 3 to 4 mm in diameter.^[6]

• 
  closeup view of galls

References

1. "Polystepha pilulae Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
2. "Polystepha pilulae species details". Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
3. "Polystepha pilulae". GBIF. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
4. "Polystepha pilulae Species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
5. Gagné, Raymond J. (1989). The plant-feeding gall midges of North America. Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock Publishing Associates.
6. Felt, EP (1910). "Gall midges of Aster, Carya, Quercus, and Salix". Journal of Economic Entomology. 3 (4): 347–356. doi:10.1093/jee/3.4.347.

Further reading

• Gagné, Raymond J.; Jaschhof, Mathias (2017). A Catalog of the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) of the World, Fourth Edition (PDF). Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture.
• Gagné, Raymond J.; Jaschhof, Mathias (2014). A Catalog of the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) of the World (PDF) (Report). Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA.