Abai, MR

6th International Congress of DipterologyHost alternation by the Paederia flower bud gall midge,Asphondylia sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), with phenologicalinformation on its emergence and oviposition seasonOkamoto, C. (1), N. Uechi (2) & J. Yukawa (3)(1)Entomological laboratory, Graduate School of Bioresource and BioenvironmentalSciences, Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan(2)Okinawa Prefectural Agricultural Research Center, Makabe, Itoman, Okinawa 901-0336, Japan(3)Kyushu University, Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812-8581, JapanSkunk vine, Paederia foetida (Rubiaceae), has recently been introducedinto southeastern USA from Asia. It has overgrown on native vegetationand has caused serious damage. To control skunk vine, USDA has beenconsidering use of biological control agents and we have been involved inthis project since 2003. In Japan, an Asphondylia segregate, the Paederiaflower bud gall midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), has been known toinduce flower bud galls on P. foetida during summer and autumn, but ithas not been identified because of morphological similarity to some othercongeners and lack of information on its life cycle except the summerautumnseason on P. foetida. We analyzed region of the cytochromeoxidase subunit I (COI) and 12S gene of mtDNA for the Paederia flowerbud gall midge and other Asphondylia congeners on different host plants inJapan in order to identify the segregate, because recent studies revealedthat some Asphondylia species are alternate host plants seasonally. Themolecular sequencing data indicated that the segregate might be identicalwith the Hedera fruit gall midge. So, we considered that the gall midgeutilizes fruit of Hedera rhombea (Araliaceae) during winter and flowerbuds of P. foetida during summer and autumn. Phenological data indicatedthat the gall midge might use another unknown host plant before coming toPaederia in summer after emergence from Hedera in May.Key Words: host alternation, Paederia flower bud gall midge, Asphondylia,Cecidomyiidae, phenological information185