Bull thistle gall fly
Urophora stylata
The bull thistle gall fly is a small fly that loves thistles. Its babies, called larvae, grow up inside thistle plants. People even use it as a helper to keep wild thistles from spreading too much.
Lives in
Europe and Asia as far as Japan, and brought to North America, India, Pakistan and Australia
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting people.
What does it eat?
Its larvae feed inside thistle plants.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Bull thistle gall fly about 8 km/h (5 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
People brought it to North America on purpose, to slow down a thistle that was spreading everywhere.
2
It belongs to a family of flies that are often called fruit flies.
3
Its home stretches all the way from Europe to Japan.
you asked
Most asked questions about Bull thistle gall fly
?What does the bull thistle gall fly eat?
Its larvae grow up eating thistle plants from the inside.
?Is the bull thistle gall fly dangerous?
No. It is a small fly that only cares about thistles.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Urophora stylata
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Tephritidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Tephritidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Urophora stylata (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by TristramBrelstaff. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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