Dogwood Clubgall Midge – Resseliella clavula

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Dogwood Clubgall Midge (Resseliella clavula)

Latin Name: Resseliella clavula

Common Name: Dogwood Clubgall Midge

Appearance: 

  • Resseliella clavula, or dogwood club gall midges, are small flies that emerge in the spring as fresh leaf development resumes on dogwoods. The adult is just approximately 1/16 inch long. The abdomen is a brilliant orange color, whereas the thorax is a golden orange or duller color.
  • The wings are sprinkled with varied patches of black and yellow hairs that resemble irregular black and yellow stripes in certain species.
  • The male’s antennae are nearly the same length as his body, with beadlike joints.
  • The female’s antennae are shorter and less ornamented than the male’s.
  • The larva is a grub that is orange in hue.

Hosts plants:

The dogwood club gall midge appears to be the only host plant for the dogwood club gall midge.

Territory: 

Native throughout the eastern United State 

Damage insect caused by Dogwood Clubgall Midge:

A huge gall, about 2-3mm in diameter, will grow on the stem or at the tip of the branch as a direct result of feeding on the dogwood tree’s new shoots. It can kill twigs and buds if it isn’t handled. A considerable infestation, especially on a young tree, can be appealing damaging.

Description about Gall marker: 

Gall-making insects aren’t usually considered pests, and some galls are even decorative, being utilized in flower arrangements and other crafts. Most gall-making insects do not harm the host plant; but, certain species can cause aesthetic damage to the expensive nursery or landscaping plants, such as leaf discoloration, early defoliation, or twig and stem loss. Pecan output can be reduced by heavy infestations of the pecan stem phylloxera.

Life History and Habits:

In 1939, the dogwood clubgall was a frequent malformation on flowering dogwood. Larvae emerge from the galls in the fall by gnawing tiny, circular holes on the sidewalls. They fall beneath the dogwood trees, where they spend the winter. Pupation takes place in the spring after that. Adults emerge late spring and deposit their eggs amid the tiny terminal leaves. The eggs are usually placed on the strongest twigs, where the nodes in the forming bud are close together. When the maggots hatch, they burrow into the interior of the leaf base or petioles at the intersection of two pairs of minute terminal leaves. Access to the midrib can also be gained through neighbouring leaf tissue. Feeding causes an elongate gall to develop, with the maggots living in a central cavity. Per gallon, 1 to 39 maggots can be discovered.