ARS | Publication request: A new species of Schizomyia (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a pest of Fernaldia pandurata (Apocynaceae) in Central America

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: August 26, 2007
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
Citation: Gagne, R.J., Menjivar, R., Solis, M.A. 2008. A new species of Schizomyia (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a pest of Fernaldia pandurata (Apocynaceae) in Central America. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 110:284-291.

Interpretive Summary: Gall midges are economically important as plant feeders that cause considerable damage to agricultural crops. Maggots of an unnamed gall midge have been known for many years as a serious pest of loroco, a commercial export crop in El Salvador that is important in Salvadoran cuisine and is often intercepted at U.S. ports-of-entry. A recent investigation showed that the maggots in loroco flower buds belong to a species new to science. The species is named and characterized anatomically and biologically. This research makes it possible for quarantine entomologists and field managers to identify this pest and its damage so that proper attention can be focused on its control and exclusion from importation with the crop into the United States.

Technical Abstract: A new species of gall midge, Schizomyia loroco Gagné (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is described from loroco, Fernaldia pandurata (A. DC.) Woodson (Apocynaceae), from El Salvador. Females lay eggs in flower buds that then produce characteristic flower galls. The new species is described, illustrated, and compared to its congeners.