Blueberry gall midge : a possible new pest in the Northwest : identification, life cycle, and plant injury

Abstract

In the blueberry production regions of Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi, blueberry gall midge is a serious insect pest that affects rabbiteye and southern highbush blueberries, causing substantial yield loss by damaging flower buds. The midge is present from the southeastern to the northern United States, where it feeds on vegetative buds of blueberry and cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton). The gall midge Dasineura oxycoccana (Johnson) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) was identifi ed as a pest in rabbiteye blueberries (Vaccinium ashei Reade) in the southeastern United States in the early 1990s. In 2004, Dr. Blair Sampson of USDA confirmed that the blueberry gall midges collected in blueberry fields in Oregon and Washington were D. oxycoccana.