Caryomyia ansericollum Gagne, new name

Hosts: Carya cordiformis

Caryomyia caryaecola Felt 1921: 114. Junior secondary homonym of Cecidomyia caryaecola Osten Sacken; Gagne 2004: 100, as new junior synonym of Caryomyia caryaecola (Osten Sacken) to avoid coining new name for C. caryaecola (Felt).

Gall (Figs. 147-148): Infrequent, known only from bitternut of the Apocarya section; usually in closely set series, attached to vein on lower leaf surface, occasionally so recurved as to break through leaf surface to upper surface; 4.1-9.0 mm in height, upright, leaning, or recurved, base spheroidal, abruptly narrowed to elongate, narrow, curved or sinuous neck, the apex digitate; with short to long, crinkled, white to light brown hair not obscuring gall surface; green, turning brown, not sticky; base with irregular, shallow, central depression; larval chamber basal, ovoid, white, surrounded by thick, green tissue turning brown and woody; a bundle of fibers present between larval chamber and gall apex.

This is the only gall on bitternut with thick, woody tissue; the others are thin-walled and brittle. Felt (1921) redescribed C. caryaecola Osten Sacken as a new species because he did not consider Osten Sacken's name to be valid, Osten Sacken having described it on the basis of the gall only. Unfortunately, Felt misidentified Osten Sacken's species, so Felt's homonym must be renamed here. Felt (1921) had a broad concept of the gall of this species that included three kinds of conical galls shown here to yield three separate Caryomyia spp.

Affinities. — This species is one of three found only on bitternut; each one appears more similar to species on the Eucarya section than to one another.

Range: IN, MD, NJ, NY, PA, VT, VA, WV

- Raymond J. Gagne: (2008) The Gall Midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of Hickories (Juglandaceae: Carya)^©

Reference: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38636615#page/28/mode/1up