Willow beaked-gall midge
The willow beaked-gall midge is a tiny fly from North America. Its babies live inside the tips of willow twigs. The willow grows a lump called a gall around them, which becomes their cosy home.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
The larvae spend the whole winter inside their gall and fly out as adults in spring.
A willow with these galls grows more side shoots than usual.
Those fresh young shoots then attract other hungry insects, such as aphids and leaf beetles.
Midges in Japan were once thought to be the same kind, but they are probably a different species.
Most asked questions about Willow beaked-gall midge
?What is a gall?
A gall is a lump a plant grows around a tiny insect living inside it. It gives the insect food and shelter.
?Is the willow beaked-gall midge harmful?
No, not to people. It only makes small galls on willow twigs.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Rabdophaga rigidae
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Cecidomyiidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Cecidomyiidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Rabdophaga rigidae (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 Natthager. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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