Occurrence of Contarinia maculipennis (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) infesting flower buds of Dendrobium phalaenopsis (Orchidaceae) in greenhouses on Okinawa Island, Japan

Abstract

A cecidomyiid species found in 1989 in orchid greenhouses on Okinawa Island, Japan, is identified as Contarinia maculipennis, a polyphagous Southeast Asian pest. This species is distinguished from other congeners by the uneven circumfilar loops of the male flagellomere, the relatively long female first flagellomere, and the spiracles of the larval eighth abdominal segment at the end of the posteriorly directed lobes. C. maculipennis was intercepted at Narita Airport, Japan, in 2000 and 2001 with orchid flowers imported from Southeast Asian countries. We emphasize caution about recognizing the possibility that this polyphagous gall midge could infest cash crops other than orchids on Okinawa Island.