First Record of Asphondylia Websteri (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Infesting Hass Avocados (Report‪)‬

Asphondylia websteri Felt (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) is a polyphagous galling midge that attacks immature fruiting bodies of native and exotic crop plants in the southwestern U.S.A. (Barnes 1946; Gagne 1989, 1994; Gagne & Wuensche 1986; Gagne & Woods 1988.) There are over 250 described species of Asphondylia, with many additional known species that are undescribed (Gagne 2004; Gagne & Waring 1990). Asphondylia is cosmopolitan in distribution and the majority of species appear to be mono- or stenophagous (Barnes 1939; Gagne 2004). Some Asphondylia spp. exhibit sufficiently high host fidelity that they have been considered as classical biological control agents for invasive weed species (Cruttwell-McFadyen & Bennett 1995). Other species of Asphondylia, like A. websteri and A. gennadii, are polyphagous, and in some instances, can be important pests on non-native crops (Gagne & Orphanides 1992; Gagne & Wuensche 1986; Rogers 1972). The exact home range of A. websteri is uncertain, but southwestern U.S.A. and northern Mexico are thought to be areas constituting the natural range in North America (Gagne & Orphanides 1992; Gagne & Woods 1988; Rogers 1972). Asphondylia websteri may be an invasive pest in the Dominican Republic that was accidentally introduced from the U.S.A. with a commercial legume, guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba [Fabaceae]) (Gagne & Wuensche 1986). At the time the work reported here was conducted in Guatemala, the range of A. websteri was not known to have extended into Central America (R. Gagne, pers. comm. 2008).