Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Yellow larva

Posted by Marion Friedrich on 07-10-2016 13:29
#1

Hello,
in September I found an oak twig with some oak artichoke galls and opened a gall. Inside was a gall wasp larva as expected. In addition on the gall I noticed 3 yellowish larvae. The size of the larvae was between 1 and 2 mm. The measured size of the artichoke gall with one of the larvae shown here is 14 mm.
http://www.arthropodafotos.de/pictures/43_hym/16CHS08025o.jpg
Some days later I searched for the larvae or pupae, but could not find them on the tissue. First I assumed that the larvae hided for pupation in the artichoke gall.
Now I have another guess.
Is the larva on the pictures a diptera larva, possibly Drosophilidae? The reason for this question is that I found 5 days and some hours after taking the larvae photos the Drosophila fly from this thread.
http://www.diptera.info/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=5&thread_id=75839
In my opinion larvae were not able to leave the container with nearly perpendicular walls, but a small fly could escape through the slit between cover and container.
Is it possible that the Drosophila stems from the yellowish larvae? Against this guess speeks the very short time for development to imago.

Thanks,
Marion

Posted by John Carr on 07-10-2016 14:59
#2

If they are not Cynipidae, the next likely family is Cecidomyiidae.

Posted by Marion Friedrich on 07-10-2016 16:22
#3

Thanks, John.
Here is a picture of the Cynipidae larva (Andricus foecundatrix) the owner of the gall together with one of the yellow larvae. They look quite different. I thought the larvae only live on the artichoke gall, and that they are not responsible for gall existence.
Marion