Bug FAQSenecio Gall Fly
Sphenella fascigera
The Senecio gall fly is a fruit fly native to New Zealand. Its larvae gall the stems and flower heads of Senecio plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
It belongs to the genus Sphenella in the fruit-fly family Tephritidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The larvae make galls inside the stems and flower heads of Senecio plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The grub stage feeds on Senecio stems and flower heads, forming galls.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
This species is native to New Zealand.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 51 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arizona, Massachusetts.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants does the Senecio gall fly affect?
Its larvae gall the stems and flower heads of Senecio plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family ()
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphenella_fascigera
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.