Caryomyia stellata Gagne, new species

Hosts: Carya ovata, laciniosa, glabra, tomentosa, floridana, pallida

Gall (Figs. 11a, 143): Occasional, on Eucarya hickories; single or clustered, on lower leaf surface between veins; 5.0-9.0 mm in height, elongate-conical, base flared laterally, the flattened edge often stellate, sometimes merely irregularly lobed, cone usually greatly attenuate and slightly curved to apex, furrowed; surface smooth, bare, green turning purple; base with shallow, circular, central excavation, leaf with no exfoliation surrounding connection; larval chamber ovoid, located at base of gall, surrounded by yellowish pellicle different in texture from soft, viscous, usually purple surrounding tissue that collapses with age, a bundle of fibers traversing between larval chamber and gall apex. Galls from Florida, Georgia, and Maryland are only tentatively placed with this species. They are the only ones found east of the Appalachians and are only shallowly lobed at the base and the lobes are rounded. West of the Appalachians the galls are more common, the bases more stellate, and the cones much longer (Fig. 143). Galls of this species have the same basic shape as those of C. sanguinolenta except for a much higher crown and flared sides.

Affinities. — See under C. sanguinolenta, from which this species differs in the shape of the gall. [C sanguinolenta: Galls of this species resemble closely enough those of several other species, C. biretta, C. conoidea, C. lunata, C. marginata, and C. stellata, to indicate some relationship among them, given other similarities of adult and larval characters. These species differ only in the shape of their galls, which are conical with their extensive soft, large-celled tissue eventually collapsing. Between that tissue and the larval cell is a pellicle that is at first soft but eventually hardens into a brittle covering. The soft tissue mostly deteriorates during the winter. The base of the galls, through which pupae eventually escape, is shield- like and smooth, even on otherwise hairy galls. The conical galls only superficially resemble those of C. persicoides and C. turbanella. Galls of these last two deteriorate differently and pupae break out of the side of the gall rather than the base. Also, the male antennae and genitalia of these two species place them in another group.]

Range: AL, AR, FL, GA, IN, KY, ME, MD, MA, MS, MO, NH, NY, OH, OK, TN, WV

- Raymond J. Gagne: (2008) The Gall Midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of Hickories (Juglandaceae: Carya)^©

Reference: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38636615#page/76/mode/1up