The genus Dasineura Rondani, 1840 (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) in Brazil

Abstract

Dasineura (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) is the gall midge genus with the highest number of known species (466 throughout the world). Only 39 species have been described from the Neotropics, being 10 from Brazil. Many records of not determined species are found in the literature. Furthermore, many unidentified specimens are deposited in the Cecidomyiidae Collection of the Museu Nacional/UFRJ, which comprises material from several Brazilian biomes. This paper provides these data, presents new records of localities and host plants, and discusses the representativeness of Dasineura in Brazil. The results point to the occurrence of 32 species in Brazil and show that the genus is much more diversified than previous knowledge indicates.