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Contarinia pyrivora (Riley)
Insecta, Diptera, Cecidomyiidae .

Pear midge, Pear gall midge

Description, Biology, Life Cycle, Damage, Common Names, Images

[R]Description
- Adult: 2 to 3 mm long. Black head, brownish antennae. Black thorax; well developed wings, slightly smoky; legs long, brown. The female ovipositor can evaginate and attain the length of the body.
- Egg: 0.3 x 0.1 mm.
- Larva: 2.5 to 3.0 mm long, narrow at both ends, marked transversal segmentation, well developed sternal spatula.

[R]Biology
This midge is specific to pear.
- Fecundity: 20 to 30 eggs.
- Egg: embryonic development lasts 4 to 5 days.
- Larva: larval development lasts 4 to 6 weeks.

[R]Life Cycle
- 1 generation per year.
- The adults emerge in spring, by the end of March or beginning of April, when the pear buds have reached stage D3 (*) . The flight lasts 5 to 14 days. Mating and egg laying occur just after emergence. The female evaginates its ovipositor, inserts it between the sepals and the petals and deposits her eggs in clusters of 12 to 15 on the anthers or on the pistil (*) .
- The young larvae penetrate the ovary (*) . When fully grown, they vacate the fruitlet through cracks or by perforating the skin, they drop to the ground and burrow to a depth of about 5 cm; each then spins a cocoon for itself and pupates.

[R]Damage
The larvae cause deformation and accelerated growth of the ovary in which they develop. At the end of April or the beginning of May, the attacked fruit can be distinguished from healthy fruit by its greater size and irregular form, more or less spherical ("calabashed" pears (*) ); subsequently, the size of healthy fruitlets reaches and exceeds that of infested ones. Fruitlets which have been attacked, drop prematurely.

[R]Common Names
DE: Birngallmücke ES: Cecidómido del peral FR: Cécidomyie des poirettes IT: Cecidomia delle perine PT: Cecidomídeo das perinhas GB: Pear midge, Pear gall midge

[R] Images

  1. Contarinia pyrivora (Riley) (COUTIN R. / OPIE)
    Female laying It introduces its ovipositor into the flower bud (arrowed).
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  2. Contarinia pyrivora (Riley) (COUTIN R. / OPIE)
    Sensitive stage of pear Pear flower bud at the D3 stage (favourable to egg-laying).
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  3. Contarinia pyrivora (Riley) (COUTIN R. / OPIE)
    Damage to pear (a) : normal pear; (b) : "calabashed" pears.
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  4. Contarinia pyrivora (Riley) (COUTIN R. / OPIE)
    Larva in a pear "Calabashed" pear cut open to show the larva in the ovarian cavity.
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