Orseolia cynodontis Kieffer & Massalongo, 1902

Karimpour, Younes & Skuhrava, Marcela, 2022, Additions to the fauna of gall midges (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) in Iran, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 8 (4), pp. 571-579 : 575

Orseolia cynodontis Kieffer & Massalongo, 1902 ( Fig. 3)

Materials examined. 4♂, 5♀, IRAN, West Azarbaijan (Azarbaijan- e Gharbi) province, Urmia environs, situated at the 21 st km of Urmia – Mahabad road, vicinity of Arablü village, 10 years old vineyard, 37°24'40''N, 45°14'53''E, Elev. 1278 m a.s.l., ex Cynodon dactylon (L.) Persoon ( Poaceae ), 05–11.x.2020, leg.: Y. Karimpour.

Diagnostic characters Male. ( Fig. 3A) body size 5–7 mm long, head with large holoptic eyes, palpi with four segments; antennae with 2+12 (scape and pedicel + flagellomeres), binodose, nodes unequal, basal node bearing one set of short, looped circumfila, distal node bearing two sets of circumfila, genitalia with relatively short aedeagus, not extending beyond the interior lamella. Tarsal claws simple on all legs.

Female ( Fig. 3B). similar to male in body size, large holoptic eyes and number of palpi and antenna segments except for following characters, flagellomeres long, cylindrical, with moderately long necks, with simple circumfila and numerous tubercle-based setae.

Biology. Larvae of O. cynodontis cause galls on Bermudagrass. The galls are oval and consist of several malformed leaves massed together at the extremity of the shoot forming a tube. Only a single larva develops in each gall where it also pupates. During the year only one generation develops ( Kieffer & Massalongo, 1902).