Oligotropus betheli
Pest description and crop damage The adult is a tiny, yellow, mosquito-like fly. The larva is a maggot which lacks legs or a definite head. Juniper tip midge larvae feed in the tips of shoots, causing them to swell and form green galls. After the larvae have left, the galls turn brown (sometimes reddish) and the tips die back. Symptoms of mining and exit holes may be found at the junction between living and dead tissue or at the base of the swollen portion. The damage may appear very similar to that caused by fungal pathogens in the genus Phomopsis.
Management-cultural control
Remove green galls and damaged tips.
Management-chemical control
See:
Chemical Control of Nursery Pests
For more information
Johnson, W.T. and H.H. Lyon (1991), Insects That Feed on Trees and Shrubs, 2nd ed., Cornell University Press (p. 46).