Bug FAQCystiphora sonchi
Cystiphora sonchi · Order: Diptera · Family: Cecidomyiidae
Cystiphora sonchi is a gall-midge in the Cecidomyiidae family. Its larvae create tiny circular galls on the leaves of host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It belongs to the gall-midge family Cecidomyiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It originates from Eurasia and has been introduced to North America for biocontrol of sow thistles.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Parasitic wasps use the larvae as hosts.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range is Eurasia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 7 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa, Virginia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: introduced in Canada; introduced in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants are affected by Cystiphora sonchi?
The larvae form leaf galls on sow thistles and similar host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cecidomyiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystiphora_sonchi
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.