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Dasineura brassicae (Winnertz)
Insecta, Diptera, Cecidomyiidae .

Brassica pod midge

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

[R]Description
- Adult: 1.0 to 1.5 mm. Female with reddish abdomen; male, blackish (*) .
- Eggs: deposited in groups of up to 10 in the pods (*) .
- Larva: 1.5 mm long, white or yellowish-white.
- Pupa: inside whitish cocoon 1.4 to 2.1 mm long, at a depth of 3 cm, in the soil.
These midges are very hard to detect (yellow traps) because of their small size and very short life.

[R]Biology
- Host plants: rape, cabbage, turnip and radish.
- Adult: Females outnumber males by 3 to 2. Fecundity: 25 to 30 eggs. When the weather is unsuitable, they retreat to the lower part of the plants. Longevity: males, 1 to 2 days, females, 4 to 9 days.
- Eggs: time until hatching, 4 days.
- Larva: 9 to 15 days; 3 instars.
- Pupa: 7 to 35 days.

[R]Life Cycle
- 3 to 4 generations in northern France and in Sweden, 5 to 6 in Germany. Duration of 1st and 2nd flight period: 10 days; of 3rd: 15 days. The 1st generation develops on the pods of winter rape, the 3rd on spring rape, and the 2nd can develop on either.
- The adults emerge on warm, sunny, calm mornings from mid-April onwards in the Paris area. Mating and egg-laying occur on the same day.
- The larva feeds on the internal wall of the pod valve (or on the seeds) by discharging saliva (*) . In mid-May, they drop to the ground, bury themselves and form cocoons. Some will pupate, others may undergo diapause for 1 to 4 years.

[R]Damage
Found especially at the edges of fields. Due to larva feeding, which causes swellings, valve deformation, precocious yellowing and bursting of pods, the seeds fall out (*) .

[R]Common Names
DE: Kohlschotenmücke ES: Cecidómido de las vainas de las crucíferas FR: Cécidomyie des siliques des crucifères IT: Cecidomia delle crucifere PT: Mosquinha (cecidomídeo) das couves (crucíferas) GB: Brassica pod midge

[R] Images

  1. Dasineura brassicae (Winnertz) (ACTA)
    Adult Drawn from a microscope-mounted specimen.
  2. Dasineura brassicae (Winnertz) (Coutin R. / OPIE)
    Eggs Inside a rape pod a : eggs of D. brassicae; b : egg of Ceutorhynchus assimilis .
  3. Dasineura brassicae (Winnertz) (Coutin R. / OPIE)
    Larvae in a pod
  4. //SCN (ACTA)
    Damage The pod are spilt, dry, emptied of their seeds.
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  5. Dasineura brassicae (Winnertz) (BASF)
    Female in egg-laying position

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HYPPZ on line : Species (scientific name), Pests (common names), Glossary, Crops.

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