Actilasioptera
Taxonomy
This page represents the following TreeOfLife-200M taxonomic path.[1]
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Arthropoda
- Class: Insecta
- Order: Diptera
- Family: Cecidomyiidae
- Genus: Actilasioptera
Visual Description
Based on observations from the TreeOfLife-200M dataset, species within the genus Actilasioptera are small, delicate flies characteristic of the family Cecidomyiidae.[1] They typically exhibit a slender body form with long, fragile-looking legs and antennae.[1] The wings are often clear or lightly patterned, and the overall coloration is generally muted, blending with their host plant environment.[1]
Biology and Ecology
The genus Actilasioptera consists of gall-inducing midge species that are specialized associates of mangrove plants in the genus Avicennia (Acanthaceae).[2] Avicennia is recognized as a "superhost" for various gall-inducing arthropods in tropical mangrove forests globally, with Actilasioptera species serving as primary agents of gall formation on these plants.
Taxonomic History
The genus Actilasioptera was established by Gagné and Law (1998) to accommodate species previously classified within the genus Stefaniella, such as Actilasioptera falcaria (formerly Stefaniella falcaria). A type species designation for the genus was later published by Gagné in 1999.[3]
Distribution and Host Associations
Actilasioptera species have been documented across various regions:
- Several species, including A. coronata, A. pustulata, A. subfolium, A. tuberculata, and A. tumidifolium, were described from Avicennia marina in Queensland, Australia.
- Actilasioptera falcaria has been recorded on Avicennia officinalis in Thailand and India (Pichavaram).
Gallery
References
- 1 2 3 4 Dataset view for Animalia / Arthropoda / Insecta / Diptera / Cecidomyiidae / Actilasioptera constructed from imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M records under this taxonomic path. Hugging Face Datasets. https://huggingface.co/datasets/imageomics/TreeOfLife-200M.
- ↑ Rita de Cássia Oliveira dos Santos; Marcus Emanuel Barroncas Fernandes; Marlucia Bonifacio. Are the Species of the Genus Avicennia L. (Acanthaceae) a “Superhost” Plants of Gall-Inducing Arthropods in Mangrove Forests?. InTech eBooks. 2013. https://doi.org/10.5772/55454.
- ↑ Actilasioptera Gagné, 1999. GBIF. https://www.gbif.org/species/1591802. Accessed 2026-07-14.