Procecidochares sp. nr. minuta (Snow)

Eggs are laid in May on C. n. bigelovii [Ericameria nauseosa var. bigelovii] in what appears to be the apical buds of the current year’s new growth. Larvae feed inside galls which become recognizable only when the flowerheads begin to form (generally July-August). Procecidochares sp. galls consist of enlarged, unopened flowerheads (Fig. 1E-F). Pupation takes place within the galls. The first puparia were found on 19 and 23 August, 1981, at the two study sites and the percentage of the gall samples containing puparia reached 95% by 16 and 19 September. The first adult emergences followed within a few days in both the field and laboratory .... I dissected 236 galls and never found more than one tephritid larva or evidence of more than one larval chamber.