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Sticker of Euthamia leaf gall midge
Bug card No. 1609 of 4,939

Euthamia leaf gall midge

Asteromyia euthamiae
Eats: PlantsFlies and mosquitoesGardens and meadows6 legs

The Euthamia leaf gall midge is a tiny fly. You may never notice the fly itself, but you can spot the little black bumps it leaves on the leaves of Euthamia plants. These bumps are called galls, and its babies grow up safely inside them.

Lives in
Northern North America, in meadows where Euthamia plants grow
Top speed
about 8 km/h (5 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting, and the galls do not hurt you.
What does it eat?
Its babies live inside the galls on Euthamia leaves and get their food there, hidden from hungry eyes.
For real!Photo of Euthamia leaf gall midge
Picture by This image is created by user B. Schoenmakers at Observation.org , a global biodiversity recording project.. CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its galls are about 3 to 10 millimetres long, about as long as a grain of rice or a little longer.

2

The shape of a gall depends on how wide the leaf is. It can be round, oval or long and thin.

3

Most galls are black, but some have a thin edge of yellow, white or purple.

you asked

Most asked questions about Euthamia leaf gall midge

?What is a leaf gall?

A gall is a little bump that a plant grows around a baby insect. On Euthamia leaves these bumps are usually black.

?Is the Euthamia leaf gall midge dangerous?

No. It is a tiny fly that does not bite or sting.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Asteromyia euthamiae
Named by
Gagné, 1968
Group
Flies and mosquitoes
Family
Cecidomyiidae
Classification
Insecta > Diptera > Cecidomyiidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Asteromyia euthamiae (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by This image is created by user B. Schoenmakers at Observation.org , a global biodiversity recording project.. CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Flies and mosquitoes

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

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