Cecidomyiidae is the correct name for the insects known as the gall midge. They are flies (Order Diptera). As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders, scorpions, etc. ... Classes & Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely-distributed taxon within the phylum Arthropoda. ... Suborders Nematocera(Eudiptera) Brachycera Green Bottle Fly Flesh Fly Fannia a Lesser House Fly (unidentified species) Dolichopodidae (unidentified species) Diptera (di - two, ptera – wings), or true flies, is the order of insects in which the hind wings are reduced to halteres. ... Nematocera are generally primitive flies, all with filamentous antennae which may be plumose in some males. ... Superfamilies    Anisopodidae¤    Bibionidae¤    Bolitophilidae¤    Cecidomyiidae¤    Diadocidiidae¤    Ditomyiidae¤    Hesperinidae¤    Keroplatidae¤    Lygistorrhinidae¤    Mycetophilidae¤    Pachyneuridae¤    Perissommatidae¤    Scatopsidae¤    Sciaridae¤    Keroplatidae Bibionomorpha is a infraorder of Eudiptera. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Symphypleona - globular springtails Subclass Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) Subclass Dicondylia Monura - extinct Thysanura (common bristletails) Subclass Pterygota Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Blattodea (cockroaches) Mantodea (mantids) Isoptera (termites) Zoraptera Grylloblattodea Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets... Suborders Nematocera(Eudiptera) Brachycera Green Bottle Fly Flesh Fly Fannia a Lesser House Fly (unidentified species) Dolichopodidae (unidentified species) Diptera (di - two, ptera – wings), or true flies, is the order of insects in which the hind wings are reduced to halteres. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Kalanchoë infected with crown-gall using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. ...

These are very fragile small insects usually only 2-3mm. in length and many are less than 1 mm long. They are characterised by hairy wings, unusual in the Order Diptera, and have long antennae. Worldwide there are 3000+ species but since 1,100 are from well-studied North America it is clear this is an underestimate. Many are economically significant especially the important insect pest of wheat, the Hessian fly, the galls causing severe damage to the crop. Other important pests include the lentil flower midge (Contarinia lentis), the lucerne flower midge (C. medicaginis) and the alfalfa sprout midge (Dasineura ignorata) on the Leguminosae ; the Swede midge (Contarinia nasturtii) and the brassica pod midge (Dasineura brassicae) on the Cruciferae; the pear midge (Contarinia pyrivora) and the raspberry cane midge (Resseliella theobaldi) on fruit crops. Antennae (singular antenna), are the paired appendages connecting to the first (and in crustaceans also to the second) segment of the head of the members of all subphyla of the arthropods except Chelicerata. ... In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Binomial name Mayetiola destructor (Say, 1817) The hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor, is a species of fly that is a significant pest of cereal crops including wheat, barley and rye. ... Binomial name Lens culinaris Medikus The lentil (Lens culinaris) is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds. ... Location within Switzerland View of the city from Lake Lucerne Another view across Lake Lucerne The Lion Monument Lucerne (German: Luzern) is a city in Central Switzerland with a population of 60,274 (December 31, 2003), capital of the Canton of Lucerne. ... Binomial name Medicago sativa L. Subspecies subsp. ... Genera See text The flowering plant family Brassicaceae, known as the mustard/cabbage family, provides much of the worlds winter vegetables. ... Species About 30 species, including: Pyrus amygdaliformis Pyrus austriaca Pyrus balansae Pyrus betulifolia Pyrus bourgaeana Pyrus bretschneideri Pyrus calleryana Pyrus caucasica Pyrus communis Pyrus cordata Pyrus cossonii Pyrus elaeagrifolia Pyrus fauriei Pyrus kawakamii Pyrus korshinskyi Pyrus lindleyi Pyrus nivalis Pyrus pashia Pyrus persica Pyrus phaeocarpa Pyrus pyraster Pyrus pyrifolia Pyrus... Binomial name Rubus idaeus L. The Raspberry or Red Raspberry, (Rubus idaeus) is a plant that produces a tart, sweet, red composite fruit in late summer or early autumn. ...

Curiously a large number of species are natural enemies of other crop pests.The larvae of these species are of are predaceous, and some are even reported as parasitoids. The most common prey are aphids and spider mites, followed by scale insects , then other small prey such as whiteflies and thrips and many eat the eggs of other insects or mites.Because the tiny larva are incapable of moving considerable distances, there usually has to be a substantial population of prey present before the adults will lay eggs and Cecidiomyiidae are most frequently be seen during pest outbreaks. One species Aphidoletes aphidimyza is an important component of biological control programs for greenhouse crops and is widely sold in the United States of America. ŒœáħŐųŁġĖĞɮʙ[[]] It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with predation. ... A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ... Families Adelgidae Aphididae Pemphigidae Phylloxeridae and several more Aphids (superfamily Aphidoidea) are small plant-sucking insects. ... Families Tetranychidae - Spider mites Eriophyidae - Gall mites Sarcoptidae - Sarcoptic Mange mites The mites and ticks, order Acarina or Acari, belong to the Arachnida and are among the most diverse and successful of all the invertebrate groups, although some way behind the insects. ... Families Aclerdidae Asterolecaniidae Beesoniidae Carayonemidae Cerococcidae Coccidae Conchaspididae Dactylopiidae Diaspididae Electrococcidae Eriococcidae Grimaldiellidae Halimococcidae Inkaidae Jersicoccidae Kermesidae Kerriidae Kukaspididae Labiococcidae Lecanodiaspididae Margarodidae Micrococcidae Ortheziidae Phenacoleachiidae Phoenicococcidae Pseudococcidae Putoidae Stictococcidae The scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, notable for their habit of secreting a waxy covering that covers... Whitefly Categories: Stub ... Families Suborder Terebrantia    Merothripidae    Uzelothripidae    Aeolothripidae    Adeheterothripidae    Heterothripidae    Thripidae    Fauriellidae Suborder Tubulifera    Phlaeothripidae Thrips (Thysanoptera) are tiny, slender insects with fringed wings (thus the scientific name, from the Greek thysanos (fringe) + pteron (wing)). Other common names include Thunderflies or Thunder bugs. ... A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... Biological control of pests and diseases Overview A key belief of the organic gardener is that diversity furthers health. ...

Cecidomyiidae are also known for the strange phenomenon of paedogenesis in which the larval stage reproduces without maturing first. Even stranger in some species the daughter larvae produced within a mother larva consume the mother and in others the reproduction occurs in the egg or pupa. Paedogenesis is the act of reproduction by an organism that has not achieved physical maturity. ...

External links

1. Family description and images
2. Aphidoletes aphidimyza and biological control
3. images