ocellate gall midge
(Acericecis ocellaris)
| Conservation Status | IUCN Red List |
not yet assessed |
 |
||||
NatureServe |
not listed |
||||||
Minnesota |
not listed |
||||||
| Occurrence |
|
||||||
| Flight/Season | One generation: May Spots: Spring to fall |
||||||
| Hosts | |||||||
| Size | 5 ⁄16″ to ⅜″ |
||||||
| Identification | The larva produces a flat, 5 ⁄16″ to ⅜″ in diameter gall on the upper surface of a red maple leaf. The gall is a yellow or greenish-yellow “eyespot” bordered by a ring with a red inner edge and a purple outer edge. The center of the spot is slightly raised and may be green, yellow, red, or purple. The larva is unprotected in the depressed center of the spot on the underside of the leaf. |
||||||
| Similar Species |
Septoria Leaf Spot (Septoria aceris) is a fungus that produces dark brown or tan spots with light brown centers. Black fungal bodies are visible on the upperside of the leaf under magnification. |
||||||
| Larval Food | The larva feeds on the leaf at the center of the spot on the underside of the leaf. |
||||||
| Adult Food |
|
||||||
| Life Cycle | The female deposits eggs singly on the underside of red maple leaves. After the larva hatches it feeds on the leaf and injects a hormone which causes the leaf to produce a gall. It spends 8 to 10 days on the leaf, growing to a size of about 1 ⁄16″ in length. It then drops off and burrows into the ground. It overwinters in the ground as a pupa and emerges as an adult early May the following year. |
||||||
| Behavior |
|
||||||
| Distribution |  |
||||||
| Comments |
|
||||||
| Taxonomy | Order: |
Diptera (gnats, mosquitoes, true flies) |
|||||
Suborder: |
Nematocera (long-horned flies) |
||||||
Infraorder: |
Bibionomorpha |
||||||
Superfamily: |
Sciaroidea (fungus gnats and gall midges) |
||||||
Family: |
Cecidomyiidae (gall gnats, gall midges, cécidomyidés) |
||||||
Subfamily: |
Cecidomyiinae (gall midges) |
||||||
| Supertribe: | Lasiopteridi |
||||||
Tribe: |
Oligotrophini |
||||||
| Synonyms | Cecidomyia ocellaris Mayetiola virginiana |
||||||
| Common Names |
maple eyespot gall midge maple leaf spot gall midge ocellate gall midge |
||||||
Glossary
Midge
A small fly, somewhat resembling a mosquito, in one of several families in the suborder Nematocera.
| Visitor Photos | |||
Share your photo of this insect. |
|||
This button not working for you? |
|||
| MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos | |||
Larva |
|||
 |
|||
Gall |
|||
 |
|||
Leaf |
|||
 |
|
||
| Slideshows | ||
| Visitor Videos | |||
Share your video of this insect. |
|||
This button not working for you? |
|||
| Other Videos | |||
| Visitor Sightings | ||||
Report a sighting of this insect. |
||||
|
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Be sure to include a location. |
||||
| MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings | ||||
Last Updated: