Sunflower Purse Gall Midge

Asphondylia helianthiglobulus · Order: Diptera · Family: Cecidomyiidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Sunflower Purse Gall Midge
Photo: Ilona, CC BY-SA

It is native to eastern North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Its larvae cause galls on the stems of various sunflower plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It occurs naturally in eastern North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Iowa, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri.

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

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Sunflower Purse Gall Midge photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Sunflower Purse Gall Midge photo 3
Photo: Andrew St. Paul, CC BY
Sunflower Purse Gall Midge photo 4
Photo: Ilona, CC BY-SA
Sunflower Purse Gall Midge photo 5
Photo: Brandon Corder, CC BY

Questions people ask

Where is this gall midge found?

It is native to eastern North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Cecidomyiidae)

Willow Pinecone Gall MidgeWillow Pinecone Gall MidgeRabdophaga strobiloidesOak Leaf Gall MidgeOak Leaf Gall MidgePolystepha pilulaeGoldenrod Bunch Gall MidgeGoldenrod Bunch Gall MidgeRhopalomyia solidaginisOcellate Gall MidgeOcellate Gall MidgeAcericecis ocellarisLarge Creosote Gall MidgeLarge Creosote Gall MidgeAsphondylia auripilaWillow Rose Gall MidgeWillow Rose Gall MidgeRabdophaga rosaria

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphondylia_helianthiglobulus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.