Bug FAQNettle Pouch Gall Midge
Dasineura urticae · Order: Diptera · Family: Cecidomyiidae
The nettle pouch gall midge makes irregular, smooth, often shiny galls that are purplish to pale green and have a narrow slit on the underside of nettle leaves, petioles, flower stalks or stems. Adults appear in spring, the larvae feed together inside the galls, leave to pupate in the soil, and several generations can occur each year, with the last generation overwintering as larvae in the soil.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Galls are irregularly shaped, smooth, often shiny, purplish to pale green, with thick walls and a narrow slit-shaped opening on the underside.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The insect measures between 3 and 8 mm long.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
White larvae live together inside each gall and feed on the plant cell contents.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
First-generation galls appear in spring; mature larvae exit the gall to pupate in the soil, and two or more generations may occur each year, with the final generation overwintering as larvae in the soil.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The first generation of galls is seen in spring.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It has a Eurosiberian distribution, common in central and western Europe and extending into southern Siberia.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Older scientific names for this species include Perrisia urticae and Cecidomyia urticae.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How many generations are there each year?
Two or more generations can develop in a single year.
Source: Wikipedia
What plants do they affect?
They form galls on common nettle (Urtica dioica) and occasionally on dwarf nettle (Urtica urens).
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Cecidomyiidae)
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Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasineura_urticae
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Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.