Subfamily CECIDOMYIINAE

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Introduction

Cecidomyiinae are by far the largest subfamily of gall midges. Gagné (1994) divided into four supertribes: Brachineuridi, Cecidomyiidi, Lasiopteridi, and Stomatosematidi, an arrangement that is not reported here.
Cecidomyiinae contains all plant feeding and predaceous cecidomyiids, as well as groups that have retained or reacquired the ancient fungal diet. Fossil species of this subfamily are common in amber but not yet known earlier than the Cenozoic.
The subfamily is monophyletic, characterized by the following synapomorphies: the ventrally separated gonocoxites; the reduced number of flagellomeres from the primitive 14 found in most other Sciaroidea, including the subfamily Porricondylinae, to 13, 12, or fewer, or an augmented number of more than 12 that is usually irregular within a species; and the presence of only two dorsal papillae on the eighth 393 larval abdominal segment.
Kolesik (2015) provided a key to adults of Australian cecidomyiine genera.

General References

Gagné, R.J. 1994. The Gall Midges of the Neotropical Region. Ithaca, New York : Cornell University Press xv 352 pp.

Gagné, R.J. & Jaschhof, M. 2014. A Catalog of the Cecidomyiidae (Diptera) of the World. 3rd Edition. Digital version 2. https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80420580/Gagne_2014_World_Cecidomyiidae_Catalog_3rd_Edition.pdf

Kolesik, P. 2015. A review of gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae: Cecidomyiinae) of Australia and Papua New Guinea: morphology, biology, classification and key to adults. Austral Entomology 54: 127–148 [136] (key to adults of Australian genera of gall midges)

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