Baldratia Kieffer, 1897

Dorchin, Netta, Danon, Gilad & Dor, Roi, 2019, Gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) associated with Suaeda (Chenopodiaceae) in Israel and the Mediterranean Basin, Israel Journal of Entomology (Oxford, England) 49 (2), pp. 99-134 : 112

Genus Baldratia Kieffer, 1897

Baldratia is an Old World genus in the tribe Lasiopterini , currently with 39 described species ( Gagné & Jaschhof 2017), all on Chenopodiaceae in Central Asia and the Mediterranean Basin. The genus was revised by Möhn (1969) based only on larvae, and most of the 17 species described in that work are still known only from the larval stage. Several additional species from Chenopodiaceae in Israel (and elsewhere) are yet to be described. Some species form conspicuous galls but most develop in leaves or stems with very slight to no external signs of their presence. Adults are usually larger and slenderer compared to those of other chenopod-associated genera, in particular Stefaniola and Careopalpis , and their legs are relatively longer. Flagellomere numbers vary within a species and sometimes also between antennae of the same individual. Females usually have more flagellomeres than males, and apical flagellomeres in both sexes are frequently fused. Palpi are almost always one-segmented but are two-segmented in some species. The aculeus of the female ovipositor is always curved ventrally (convex) and bears modified, strongly curved setae. Some species have an additional thick and straight spine at the base of the aculeus. The sclerotized lateral plate of the female’s cercal segment sheathes the base of the apical lamella entirely or partially, and bears simple or split setae, the latter situation being unique to Baldratia . The known pupae have well developed antennal and facial horns. Larvae are typically more elongate and slender than those of other chenopod-associated Lasiopterini ; they have a well-developed bi- or tridentate spatula with a reduced number of mostly asetose lateral papillae, and their dorsal and terminal papillae usually bear relatively long setae.