Terellia serratulae

Terellia serratulae is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.^[5]

Terellia serratulae
Terellia serratulae. Male on a Cirsium flowerhead
Terellia serratulae. Female with ovipositor
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Tephritidae
Subfamily:	Tephritinae
Tribe:	Terelliini
Genus:	Terellia
Species:	T. serratulae
Binomial name
Terellia serratulae (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Musca serratulae Linnaeus, 1758 Terellia dentata Loew, 1844[1] Terellia palpata Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830[2] Terellia luteola Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830[2] Tephritis pallens Wiedemann, 1824[3] Musca serratula Manuel, 1811[4]

Description

Terellia serratulae can reach a length of about 4–6 millimetres (0.16–0.24 in). This bluish clear-winged fruit fly has a hairy abdomen with a chequered black pattern. The apex of the antennae is reddish or yellow-orange. In the females the length of the ovipositor corresponds approximately to the length of the last three abdominal segments (tergites).^[6][7]

The females deposit eggs into the opened thistle flowerheads. The young larvae start feeding on the achenes of thistles (mainly Cirsium and Carduus species), but they do not induce gall-forming. They develop in the flower-heads (capitulum) of thistles in a cocoon of silk and plant hairs (pappus). This univoltine species overwinters in the larval stage. Adults are on the wing from July to September.^[8]

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found around thistles in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, in the Near East, and in North Africa.^[9]