Bug FAQGrape Tube Gallmaker
Ampelomyia viticola · Order: Diptera · Family: Cecidomyiidae
Also called: Grape Tube Gall Midge, Grape Tube Gall-making Midge
The grape tube gallmaker is a microscopic adult that makes green or bright-red tube galls on New World grape vines. Its larvae are about 1 mm long, pale yellow-green to orange, and build the galls on various Vitis species in July and August, sometimes into early September. It occurs throughout the eastern United States and Canada, with the type locality near Washington, D.C., and the galls are usually rare and not harmful to vineyards or wild plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It is found across the eastern Nearctic, with the type locality recorded near Washington, D.C.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult is microscopic in size.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae induce galls on several species of the grape vine genus Vitis.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Galls appear in July and August and have been recorded as late as September 8.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The galls are present during the midsummer months.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It lives in the eastern United States and eastern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 32 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Where can I find the grape tube gallmaker?
It occurs throughout the eastern United States and Canada, with the original description from near Washington, D.C.
Source: Wikipedia
When do the galls appear?
The tube galls are visible in July and August and may persist until early September.
Source: Wikipedia
Do these insects damage my vineyard?
The galls are usually rare in vineyards and are not considered harmful to grape vines.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the larvae look like?
The larvae are about 1 mm long, moderately stout, and pale yellow-green to orange in color.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cecidomyiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampelomyia_viticola
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.