The Chenopodiaceae-feeding gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) of the Na’aman salt marsh, Israel
Author
Dorchin, Netta
Author
Freidberg, Amnon
text
Zootaxa
2008
1937
1
22
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.184984
646cfc6f-1d9a-48af-9994-51efa351d71b
1175-5326
184984
Genus
Houardiella
Kieffer, 1912
Houardiella
comprises two described species in the tribe
Asphondyliini (
Gagné 2004
)
. It is closely related to the genus
Asphondylia
, with its needle-like, piercing ovipositor that is accompanied by a pair of basal lobes at its base, and the progressively shorter flagellomeres in the female. It differs from
Asphondylia
in having onesegmented (as opposed to three-segmented) palpi, a single tooth rather than two teeth on the male gonostylus, and an apical, posterior extension of the gonocoxite. Immature stages resemble those of
Asphondylia
, with well developed cephalic horns and abdominal spines in pupae, and a massive spatula in larvae.