Dogwood Clubgall Midge
Larva-The larva is an orange-colored maggot.
Host Plants -Flowering dogwood is the only known host for this pest.
Damage -The dogwood clubgall midge causes club- or spindle-shaped tubular swellings (galls) from 13 to 25.5 mm long, which form at the tips or along the stems of dogwood twigs. From 30 to 120 galls per tree have been reported. Some of the twigs may die above the swollen part, and the tree may be deformed if the infestation is heavy.
Life History -The dogwood clubgall was first recorded as a common deformity on flowering dogwood in 1939. In the fall, maggots emerge from the galls by chewing small, round holes through the sides. They drop to the soil under the dogwood trees, where they overwinter. Pupation occurs the following spring. In late spring, adults emerge and lay their eggs among the minute terminal leaves. Usually the eggs are laid on the most vigorous twigs where the nodesare close together in the developing bud. Upon hatching, the maggots work their way into the interior of the leaf base or into petioles at the junction of the apical pair or two pairs of minute terminal leaves. Occasionally, entrance to the midrib may be through adjacent leaf tissue. Feeding causes the formation of an elongate gall, where the maggots live in a central cavity. From 1 to 39 maggots may be found per gall.
Swollen twigs should be cut off and burned while the larvae are present.