''Urophora cardui'' or the Canada thistle gall fly is a
fruit fly
Fruit fly may refer to:
Organisms
* Drosophilidae, a family of small flies, including:
** ''Drosophila'', the genus of small fruit flies and vinegar flies
** ''Drosophila melanogaster'' or common fruit fly
** '' Drosophila suzukii'' or Asian fruit ...
which, contrary to its common name, is indigenous to
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ...
from the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
east to near the
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
, and from
Sweden south to the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...
.
Distribution
The Canada thistle gall fly has been introduced to
North America from Europe to control the population of its host plant, Canada, or creeping thistle, which is an invasive, introduced weed in North America.
Life cycle
The fly starts life as an egg, one to thirty of which are laid on the stems of its host plant, the Canada or creeping thistle (''
Cirsium arvense
''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...
''), during the host's growing season. After hatching, the
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
Th ...
e burrow into the stem and form a
gall
Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external Tissue (biology), tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissu ...
(or swelling). The larvae grow to reach 98% of their full adult body weight, and overwinter in the gall in the third larval stage (instar). They
pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
te in early spring for 24 to 35 days and appear reddish brown. The adult fly then chews a tunnel and escapes from the gall.
References
External links
*
BugGuide
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1128552
Urophora
Diptera of North America
Diptera of Europe
Diptera used as pest control agents
Gall-inducing insects
Insects described in 1758
Insects used for control of invasive plants
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus