''Rabdophaga exsiccans'' is a
gall midge
Cecidomyiidae is a family of diptera, flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Cecidomyiidae are very fragile small in ...
. It was first described by Ewald Heinrich Rübsaamen in 1916. The larvae tunnel in the shoots of creeping willow (''
Salix repens'') and may cause the shoots to
swell slightly.
Description
The orange or red larvae live under the bark of shoots. Before the larvae pupate they make emergence holes which may be the only indication of their presence. Shoots with larvae die off.
References
exsiccans
Nematoceran flies of Europe
Gall-inducing insects
Insects described in 1916
Taxa named by Ewald Heinrich Rübsaamen
Willow galls
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