A mango pest, Procontarinia mangicola (Shi) comb. nov. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), recently found in Okinawa, Japan.

Abstract

A gall midge species producing circular blisters on mango leaves was found in 2000 at Tamagusuku Village on Okinawa Island, Japan. This gall midge is identified as Procontarinia mangicola (Shi), and was originally placed in the genus Erosomyia. Another species, Procontarinia schreineri Harris, described from Guam is newly synonymized with P. mangicola. By 2001, this gall midge was found on eight islands in Okinawa Prefecture. Heavily galled leaves fell to the ground much earlier than usual and mango trees with galled leaves had almost no inflorescences, resulting in low yields of mango fruit. We consider that the gall midge adults might be dispersed by wind or that the larvae could be transported with soil or other substrates covering the roots of mango plants in nurseries. We also provide some comments on control measures that may be used against this gall midge.