Asphondylia fructicola, a new species of Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) associated with Solanum sp. (Solanaceae) from Brazil

Asphondylia fructicola sp. nov. is described and illustrated on the basis of the larva, pupa, male, female, and gall. This species induces galls on fruits of Solanum sp. (Solanaceae) in Amazonia, Brazil.

New Brazilian species of Asphondyliini (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae)

Asphondylia canastrae sp. nov. (Minas Gerais, Delfinópolis), A. sanctipetri sp. nov. (São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto), and Schizomyia tuiuiu sp. nov. (Mato Grosso, Cuiabá) are described. A. canastrae sp. nov. is associated with Hyptis sp. (Lamiaceae), A. sanctipetri sp. nov. with Didymopanax morototoni (Araliaceae), and S. tuiuiu sp. nov. with Bauhinia rufa (Fabaceae). Illustrations of the new species and comments about their systematic position are presented.

Pattern of attack of a galling insect reveals an unexpected preference-performance linkage on medium-sized resources

Pattern of attack of a galling insect reveals an unexpected preference-performance linkage on medium-sized resources. The Plant Vigor Hypothesis (PVH) predicts oviposition preference and higher offspring performance on longer and fast-growing shoots, and although several studies have tested its predictions, long-term studies concerning the patterns of host selection by galling species are still lacking. The PVH was tested in this study using Bauhinia brevipes (Fabaceae) as the host of a leaf gall midge, Asphondylia microcapillata (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) during three consecutive years. Shoots were collected from the same 80 plants between 2001 and 2003 and shoot length, number of healthy and galled leaves, gall number, and mortality factors were recorded. Nearly 600 galls were found on the 5,800 shoots collected. Medium-sized shoots supported from 46 to 70% of all galls, with greater gall survival rate in 2002 and 2003. A decrease in parasitism rate coupled with an increase in gall predation lead to a constant similar gall survivorship rate in all years (x = 22.7%). Although gall abundance varied among years (122 in 2001, 114 in 2002 and 359 in 2003) preference for longer shoots was not observed because the percentage of galled shoots and galled leaves were higher on medium shoot length classes in all years. The observed distribution of gall abundance and galled shoots were always greater than the expected distribution on medium shoot length classes. These findings do not support the PVH, and show that A. microcapillata can maximize the female preference and larval performance on medium-sized shoots of B. brevipes.