gall·fly

(gôl′flī′)

Any of various small insects, such as a gall midge, a gall wasp, or certain flies in the family Tephritidae, whose larvae cause the formation of galls in plants.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

gallfly

(ˈɡɔːlˌflaɪ)

n, pl -flies

(Animals) any of several small insects that produce galls in plant tissues, such as the gall wasp and gall midge

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

gall•fly

(ˈgɔlˌflaɪ)

n., pl. -flies.

any of various insects that deposit their eggs in plants, causing the formation of galls.

[1815–25]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	gallfly - small solitary wasp that produces galls on oaks and other plants cynipid gall wasp, cynipid wasp, gall wasp wasp - social or solitary hymenopterans typically having a slender body with the abdomen attached by a narrow stalk and having a formidable sting Cynipidae, family Cynipidae - a family of Hymenoptera
	2.	gallfly - fragile mosquito-like flies that produce galls on plants gall gnat, gall midge dipteran, dipteron, dipterous insect, two-winged insects - insects having usually a single pair of functional wings (anterior pair) with the posterior pair reduced to small knobbed structures and mouth parts adapted for sucking or lapping or piercing Cecidomyidae, family Cecidomyidae - gall midges Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor - small fly whose larvae damage wheat and other grains
	3.	gallfly - any of various insects that deposit their eggs in plants causing galls in which the larvae feed insect - small air-breathing arthropod

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Wisconsin BB-64 "Gallfly" as a Radarman, Petty Officer 2nd Class RD-2 (E-5).

Frank Larange

The Goldenrod and the Gallfly: Evolution of an Interaction.

Science galls me: what is a niche anyway?

Nucleators and sites of nucleation in the freeze tolerant larvae of the gallfly Eurosta solidaginis (Fitch).

ICE NUCLEI IN SOIL COMPROMISE COLD HARDINESS OF HATCHLING PAINTED TURTLES (CHRYSEMYS PICTA)

Conversely, predatory birds preferentially attack larger galls (Moeller and Thogerson, 1978; Walton, 1988), most likely because they have a higher probability, of finding the larger gallfly larvae (ca.

Foraging patterns of eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) on goldenrod gall insects, a potentially important winter food resource

They also frequent alder and willow thickets, where they eat the swollen larvae of the gallfly, which is encased in a red swelling of the leaves and often is nearly as large as a marble.

Gun notes