A New Gall Midge Species of Asphondylia (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Inducing Flower Galls on Clinopodium nepeta (Lamiaceae) From Europe, Its Phenology, and Associated Fungi

Abstract

A new gall midge, Asphondylia nepetae sp. n. Viggiani (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), causing flower gall on Clinopodium nepeta (L.) Kuntze (Lamiaceae), is described from Europe. The morphological characteristics of adult, larvae, and pupa are described and illustrated. Molecular approach (by sequencing 28S-D2, ITS2, and COI) confirmed that A. nepetae is a distinct species. The development of the gall is always associated with the presence of the fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea (Moug.: Fr.) Ces. and De Not. (Botryosphaeriales: Botryosphaeriaceae). The new species can complete several generations per year, on the flowers of the same host plant and its adults emerge from late spring to autumn. Pupae overwinter inside peculiar flower galls in a state of quiescence. The impact of the pest is highly variable with a percentage of flowers infested that ranged between 3 and 57.5% in the sampled years. Insect mortality was, at least in part, due to parasitoids that attack the young stages of the midge. Among them, the dominant species was Sigmophora brevicornis (Panzer) (Chalcidoidea: Eulophidae).

Aleurocanthus spiniferus (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Some European Countries: Diffusion, Hosts, Molecular Characterization, and Natural Enemies

“…These results are consistent with a previous study [9], providing strong indication that the two haplogroups should be reevaluated through an integrative approach because they could result in different species. An integrative approach, considering other molecular markers, biological characteristics, and morphometric analyses, often allows the delimitation and description of different species previously considered single species [53,[57][58][59]. The genetic diversity could have important implications in the management of the pest because natural enemies could have different specificity toward distinct cryptic species [60]; for example, the different biology of two pests could affect the approach necessary for their management [61].…”

Phylogenetic Characterization of Botryosphaeria Strains Associated with Asphondylia Galls on Species of Lamiaceae

“…In fact, several other fungi, such as Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp., have been frequently reported as gall associates, basically in connection with their saprophytic aptitude, which occasionally makes them conceal the real symbiont during the isolation procedure [1][2][3][4]. On the other hand, nomenclatural inconsistency, which only recently has been resolved after the epitypification of B. dothidea [5], may account for some previous incorrect reports referring to Macrophoma, Diplodia, and Dothiorella [2,3,6,7].…”

“…Species of Lamiaceae are widespread in the Mediterranean region, where they seem to represent a diversity hotspot for gall midges. In fact, two new species of the genus Asphondylia have been recently described from galls collected on host plants such as Coridothymus capitatus [12] and Clinopodium nepeta [4], and two more are in course of characterization from Micromeria graeca and Clinopodium vulgare (Viggiani, personal communication). However, their distribution appears to reach Central Europe, following the geographical spread of some hosts, as documented in the case of A. serpylli and A. hornigi, respectively associated with Thymus spp.…”

An Integrative Study on Asphondylia spp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Causing Flower Galls on Lamiaceae, with Description, Phenology, and Associated Fungi of Two New Species

“…Among the 20 Asphondylia species recorded on Lamiaceae plants, 18 are from the Palaearctic region [3,4]. A study project on the Asphondylia species, causing flower galls on Lamiaceae, started in 2014 and several papers have been published on this topic [4][5][6][7].…”

“…In recent years, the integrative approach that considers several lines of evidence (morphological, molecular, and biological data) has shown the likely existence of cryptic species and the polyphagy of some of these species. Based on this new knowledge, extending this approach to other entities reared from different host plants is necessary [4,[8][9][10][11][12][13].…”