24 October 1997 PROC. ENTOMOL. SOC. WASH. 99(4), 1997, p. 756

Celticecis, a Genus of Gall Midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Newly Reported for the Western Palearctic Region

Many Holarctic genera of and Tsuda 1987, KontyQ 55: 123-131), which shrubs are host over much of their ranges extends the range of Celticecis into the east- to particular genera of Cecidomyiidae. As ern Palearctic. One of us (JCM), pursuing examples, willows host gall midges of Rab- a long-term interest in hackberry galls, ob- dophaga and Iteomyia, oaks host Macro- tained from Prof. K. Browicz of the Insti- diplosis and Polystepha, and birches host tute of Dendrology, Kcirnik, Poland, galled Semudobia in both the Nearctic and Pale- leaves of tournefortii Lam. collected arctic Regions. So many instances of this in Hisarcik, Kayseri, . On the upper pattern are known for gall midges that when surface of the leaf the galls are about 1.5 a gall midge genus is recorded from only mm in height and width and consist of an part of the range of a Holarctic genus, outer, raised ring and a central, rounded the partial absence may be suspected to re- cone protruding from the the center of the flect a lack of collecting. There are excep- ring. On the lower surface of the leaf the tions, one being beech. This is infested gall is a simple convexity about 1.0 mm in by gall midges of the genus Mikiola in Eu- height by 1.5 mm in width. Second instars rope and Japan but apparently not in North of a presumably undescribed species of America. Mikiola may once have occured Celticecis were extracted from these galls. in North America and become extinct due This new record extends the natural range to the relatively narrow bottleneck beech of Celticecis into the western Palearctic. passed through during the Pleistocene when That Celticecis has not yet been found in it was restricted to southern North America. relatively well-collected Europe may mean Hackberries, the genus Celtis, are hosts that it became extinct there during the Pleis- in North America to at least 10 species of tocene, as might have the gall midges on gall midges of the genus Celticecis that beech in North America. The galls and the cause complex leaf and twig galls of some- larvae excised from them are deposited in times bizarre shape (GagnC 1989, The the National Museum of Natural History, Plant-Feeding Gall Midges-of North ~Amer- Washington, DG. ica, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, xi and 356 pp., 4 pls.). Some of these Raymond J. GagnC, Systematic Entomol- species were described 100 years ago, al- ogy L.uboratory, Retired, PSI, Agricultural though they were combined into a single Research Service, USDA, c/o U. S. National genus only recently (Gagnd 1983, Proceed- Museum NNB 168, Washington, D. C. ings of the Entomological Society of Wash- 20560, U.S.A., and John C. Moser, Re- ington 85: 435-438). Celticecis is known search Entomologist, Emeritus, Southern from Japan (Moser 1965, New York State Research Station, Forest Insect Research, Museum and Science Service Bulletin 402: 2500 Shreveport Hwy., Pineville, LA i-iv, 1-95 (as Phytophaga); Yukawa and 71360, U.S. A.