Willow Pinecone Gall Midge

Rabdophaga strobiloides · Order: Diptera · Family: Cecidomyiidae

Also called: Willow Cone Gall Midge

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Willow Pinecone Gall Midge
Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA

The gall of the Willow Pinecone Gall Midge looks like a pinecone. It occurs across North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The gall resembles a pinecone in shape.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It can be found throughout North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range includes all of North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Minnesota, Michigan, Vermont, Ohio, Colorado, New York, New Mexico, Wisconsin.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Willow Pinecone Gall Midge photo 3
Photo: Alex Goodfriend, CC BY
Willow Pinecone Gall Midge photo 4
Photo: Tyler Hacking, CC BY
Willow Pinecone Gall Midge photo 5
Photo: Lena Struwe, CC BY-SA
Willow Pinecone Gall Midge photo 6
Photo: Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA

Same family (Cecidomyiidae)

Oak 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 rosariaGiant Goldenrod Bunch Gall MidgeGiant Goldenrod Bunch Gall MidgeRhopalomyia capitata

Sources

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

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

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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.