A new neotropical Bruggmanniella Tavares, 1909 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) inducing galls on commercial avocado

Abstract

Brazil is among the world’s leading avocado producers, with cultivation increasingly threatened by gall-inducing midges that damage blossoms and impair fruit development. During surveys in commercial Hass avocado orchards in Minas Gerais, Brazil, a previously unknown species of Bruggmanniella Tavares, 1909 (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) was discovered infesting young fruits. Here, we describe Bruggmanniella abacate sp. nov. Garcia and Urso, based on larvae, pupae, males, and females reared from malformed fruit galls. Larvae develop within the ovarian tissue, inducing elongated galls that lead to fruit abortion. This is the first record of a Bruggmanniella species associated with Persea americana Mill. cv. ‘Hass’ in Brazil. Our findings reveal previously undocumented diversity of avocado-infesting gall midges and underscore the need for further studies to evaluate their distribution, biology, and potential economic impact on the expanding Brazilian avocado production.

Bibliographic Information