Olpodiplosis helianthi

Bucculatrix simulans

The tubular gall is more common in this area than is the gall of *Bucculatrix fusicola*. It occurs on *Helianthus annuus*, and as yet has not been found on other composites in the vicinity [of Austin, TX]. In this area there is considerable variation in the size, structure and the position of the galls on the plants... They have been found to range from 10 to 50 mm in length. In many cases the galls occur as polythalamous structures of ten to twenty-five divisions... Single galls are sometimes collected, but these are most often near the polythalamous galls on the main axis of the plant. Both types of galls are also found at the bases of and on the lateral branches of the sunflowers. Occasionally single galls are formed in the leaf axil or on the petiole, or even on the involucre of the flowers. Double or triple galls sometimes develop in these latter locations, but they rarely have more divisions than this.
[includes much more info re: the biology of this species]


The tubular gall is more common in this area than is the gall of *Bucculatrix fusicola*. It occurs on *Helianthus annuus*, and as yet has not been found on other composites in the vicinity [of Austin, TX]. In this area there is considerable variation in the size, structure and the position of the galls on the plants... They have been found to range from 10 to 50 mm in length. In many cases the galls occur as polythalamous structures of ten to twenty-five divisions... Single galls are sometimes collected, but these are most often near the polythalamous galls on the main axis of the plant. Both types of galls are also found at the bases of and on the lateral branches of the sunflowers. Occasionally single galls are formed in the leaf axil or on the petiole, or even on the involucre of the flowers. Double or triple galls sometimes develop in these latter locations, but they rarely have more divisions than this.

[includes much more info re: the biology of this species]


This insect ["*Bucculatrix fusicola*" (misapplied here to *B. simulans* Braun 1963)] produces the so-called spindle gall on the stems of sunflowers....In the region of Austin, Texas, the gall has been collected only on the sunflower, *H. annuus*...
Most frequently the galls produced by this lepidopteron are found on the main axis of the plant, but they also occur on the secondary branches. The shape of the gall is apparently greatly dependent upon the size of the stem upon which it is formed. On small stems, galls are usually spindle-shaped and symmetrical, and resemble the original description as given by Braun. However, if the gall develops on a stem more than a centimeter in diameter, it generally appears as a small bump or swelling on only one side of the stem. Galls in this area are from one to two centimeters in length with an average of about one and a half centimeters. They average somewhat shorter than those originally described by Braun which averaged approximately two centimeters in length, and many have a greater diameter. Braun's galls had a maximum width of one-half a centimeter, but in this region, some are as much as one centimeter in diameter. Variations in the size and shape of the galls are indicated in plate III. Galls were first obtained in the field in late July, but they occur only in small numbers until somewhat later than this.

The Biology of Two Sunflower Gall Makers (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae; Lepidoptera: Lyonettidae)