Occurrence of a dasineura species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) that induces leaf-fold galls on cultivated roses in Japan

In June 2005, an unidentified species of Dasineura (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) that induced leaf-fold galls on cultivated roses was found in a greenhouse in Heguri, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Similar Dasineura species have been known to occur in Japan on two wild roses, Rosa multifolia and R. rugosa. In Europe, rose leaf midge, Dasineura rosae, induces leaf-fold galls on both cultivated and wild roses. In order to confirm the phylogenetic relationship among Rosa-associated Dasineura species, we analyzed a partial region of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (676 bp) gene. The nucleotide sequence of the Dasineura species collected from cultivated roses in Nara was identical to that of gall midges that induced leaf-fold galls on wild R. multiflora in Nara and Kyoto Prefectures, Japan. However, D. rosae and Dasineura sp., which are associated with R. rugosa, were phylogenetically distinct from them. This indicates that the Dasineura sp. associated with wild R. multiflora has invaded the greenhouse in Nara Prefecture and infested the cultivated roses.