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UC IPM Home > Homes, Gardens, Landscapes, and Turf > Trees and Shrubs > Invertebrates

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How to Manage Pests

Pests in Gardens and Landscapes

Needle and twig midges—Contarinia spp.

Adults are tiny, delicate, mosquitolike flies. Midge larvae are white. They are found in swollen needles. Adults emerge from pupae in soil.

Damage

Needle and twig midges cause swollen and galled needles. Needles may drop and twigs may die back.

Solutions

Needle and twig midges apparently do not harm trees. Prune out damaged shoots. Spraying for midges generally is not warranted in landscapes.

Swollen Douglas fir needles
Swollen Douglas fir needles

Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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