Rabdophaga Heterobia
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''Rabdophaga heterobia'' is a species of gall midges which has two generations a year and forms
gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...
s on almond willow (''
Salix triandra ''Salix triandra'', with the common names almond willow, almond-leaved willow or black maul willow, is a species of willow native to Europe and Western and Central Asia. It is found from south-eastern England east to Lake Baikal, and south to Sp ...
''). It was first described by
Hermann Loew Friedrich Hermann Loew (19 July 1807 – 21 April 1879) was a German entomologist who specialised in the study of Diptera, an order of insects including Fly, flies, mosquitoes, gnats and midges. He described many world species and was the first s ...
in 1850.


Description

There are two generations a year; larvae of the spring generation gall
catkin A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind- pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). It contains many, usually unisexual flowers, arra ...
s while the summer generation is a swollen bud which partly opens and the larvae live amongst the tiny leaves. ;Spring generation A distinct, downy, ovoid swelling at the tip or base of a male catkin. The scales and stamen are thickened and contain several light red larvae which pupate in the gall. According to Redfern et al. (2011) ''S. heterobia'' galls male catkins (also recorded in Belgium) while in Hungary the gall has been recorded on female catkins which show disfigured yellow, swollen, hairy, fruitlets. ;Summer generation The gall is an enlarged bud which partly opens into a hairy rosette, and the orange-red larvae feed amongst the tiny leaves. Pupation takes place in the soil. The gall has been reported on mountain willow ('' Salix arbuscula'') and purple willow (''
Salix purpurea Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...
'') which is probably incorrect.


Distribution

Belgium, Hungary and the United Kingdom where it is common.


Inquilines

''Lestodiplosis heterobiae'' is an
inquiline In zoology, an inquiline (from Latin ''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms, such as insects, may live in the ...
of ''R. heterobia''.


References

heterobia Nematoceran flies of Europe Gall-inducing insects Insects described in 1850 Taxa named by Hermann Loew Willow galls {{Bibionomorpha-stub