Ash Bark Weevil vs Hessian Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Ash Bark Weevil Hessian Fly
Scientific Name Magdalis armigera Mayetiola destructor
Order Coleoptera Diptera
Family Curculionidae Cecidomyiidae
Size 3-5 mm 2-4 mm
Habitat Hedgerows Farmland
Diet Gall Makers Gall Makers
Regions Europe Cosmopolitan - originally Eurasia, now worldwide
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Ash Bark Weevil

A small black weevil that breeds under the bark of ash trees. Larvae create winding galleries in the cambium. Has become more noticed with ash dieback disease.

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Did You Know?

Often colonizes ash trees already weakened by ash dieback disease, accelerating their decline.

Hessian Fly

A tiny dark gall midge that is one of the most destructive pests of wheat and barley worldwide. Adults resemble small dark mosquitoes and live for only a few days.

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Did You Know?

Named after Hessian soldiers in the American Revolution who supposedly brought it to North America in straw bedding.