Mayetiola destructor

TaxID: 39758

Basic Information

Mayetiola destructor

Hessian Fly, Hessian fly

The Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor), or barley midge, is a species of fly that is a significant pest of cereal crops, including wheat, barley and rye. Though a native of Asia, upon its discovery it was believed to have been transported into North America in the straw bedding of Hessian troops during the American Revolution (1775 C1783), thus the origin of its common name. However, the report of an inquiry made in 1788 by Sir Joseph Banks states that "no such insect could be found to exist in Germany or any other part of Europe". Nonetheless, it appears that this species, or one exactly like it in habits, had been known for at least a century prior to the American Revolution from a locality near Geneva, and also for a long time from some regions in France. The Hessian fly was described by Thomas Say in 1817. It is a very harmful insect. It mainly attacks the stem, although if it is especially hungry it will eat any part of the plant it can find. In 1836, a severe infestation of Hessian flies resulted in a crop shortage aggravating the financial problems of farmers prior to the Panic of 1837.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Diptera

Cecidomyiidae

Mayetiola

destructor

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Mayetiola destructor
c
(c) ludovicnl@BY-NC-SA
Mayetiola destructor
c
(c) subodha@BY-NC
Mayetiola destructor
c
(c) danielg1954@BY-NC
Mayetiola destructor
c
(c) subodha@BY-NC
Mayetiola destructor
c
(c) ludovicnl@BY-NC-SA

Morphological Features

Eggs are oval, 0.5 mm long, reddish-orange or cream in colour. Second and third instar larvae grow between 1.70 to 4.00 mm and approximately 4.00 to 5.00 mm, respectively. Larvae are brown or black, though the abdomen may be reddish brown owing to the presence of orange eggs developing inside. The cuticle is hard, sclerotized, dark brown, and shaped distinctively.

Source: GBIF Life Stage: Larva Source Type: Taxonomic treatment
Citation:

Plazi taxonomic treatment

Host Plants (4 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

Quarantine Status (15 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Argentina Absent 2019
Brazil Absent 2018
Canada Quarantine pests 2019
Chile Quarantine pests 2019
China Quarantine pests 2021
Ecuador Quarantine pests —
Egypt Abesent 2018
Greece Quarantine pests —
Iran Absent 2018
Japan Quarantine pests —
Previous Page 1 of 2

Distribution (40 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

40
Present
0
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Algeria Present —
Armenia Present —
Australia Present —
Austria Present —
Belgium Present —
Bulgaria Present —
Canada Present
Switzerland Present —
China Present
Cyprus Present —
Page 1 of 4

Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

Download CSV

Genomes (2 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Assembly Accession Assembly Level Genome Size(Mb) Contig N50(Kb) Scaffold N50(Kb) BUSCO% Downloads Actions
GCA_001014435.1 Scaffold 146 5 9 -
GCA_000149185.1 Scaffold 185 14 756 -

Transcriptomes (3 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Run ID Tissue Developmental Stage Sex Read Count Location Actions
SRR3479262 Whole body larvae, 24 hrs,rep3 - 26591166 USA: Kansas
SRR3479263 Whole body larvae, 120 hrs,rep1 - 37410126 USA: Kansas
SRR3479264 Whole body larvae, 120 hrs,rep2 - 36730142 USA: Kansas

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature