Skuhravá M.1, Skuhravý V.1, Carbonnelle S.3 2017. Gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae: Cecidomyiinae) of Belarus // Russian Entomol. J. Vol.26. No.4: 349–360 [in English].
1 Bítovská 1227/9, 140 00 Praha, Czech Republic. E-mail: marcela.skuhrava@gmail.com
2 Place Saint Lambert 2, 5660 Aublain, Belgium. E-mail: carbogalles@gmail.com
KEY WORDS: Distribution, zoogeography, economic importance, plant-insect interactions, Cecidomyiidae, Diptera, Belarus, Palaearctic region.
ABSTRACT. The known gall midge fauna of Belarus includes 73 species. Most of these species were found by earlier researchers in the period 1881–2012. During investigations in the Berezinsky Biosphere Nature Reserve in 2016 11 species of gall midges were found; 5 of them are first records from Belarus: Giraudiella inclusa (Frauenfeld, 1862), Rabdophaga repenticola (Stelter, 1964), Semudobia betulae (Winnertz, 1853), Semudobia skuhravae Roskam, 1977 and Semudobia tarda Roskam, 1977. Belarus has the lowest species density: only 19 species have been recorded in an area of 1000 km2. Zoogeography: 42 gall midge species (57%) are Euro-Siberian and 30 gall midge species (41%) are European species. Plant-insect interactions: gall midges are associated with 58 host plant species belonging to 25 plant families. 32 species of host plants are trees and shrubs and 26 species are herbaceous plants. Populus tremula, hosting 7 gall midge species, is the host plant with the highest number of associated species. Economic importance: 7 gall midge species associated with agricultural plants are potential pests: Mayetiola destructor (Say, 1817), larvae of which damage stems of cereals; Contarinia pyrivora (Riley, 1886), larvae of which develop inside fruits of Pyrus communis; Dasineura pyri (Bouchй, 1847), attacking young developing leaves of Pyrus communis, mainly in nurseries; Dasineura mali, which is a serious pest of young apple trees and scions in orchards and in nurseries; Dasineura tetensi (Rьbsaamen, 1891), attacking young leaves of Ribes nigrum; Dasineura tortrix (F.Lцw, 1877), damaging young leaves of various species of cultivated Prunus; Lasioptera rubi (Schrank, 1803), damaging stems of cultivated species of the genus Rubus. Annotated lists of gall midge species and of host plants associated with gall midges are given.