Chrysothamnus
Guides
Aciurina ferruginea
Medusa Gall Tephritid
Aciurina ferruginea is a gall-forming tephritid fly known as the Medusa Gall Tephritid. It forms distinctive pear-shaped galls on Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus (sticky rabbitbrush) by ovipositing eggs into axillary bud exudate. Adults exhibit visual communication through wing displays, which likely function in species recognition and courtship. The species has been documented in the western United States.
Aciurina trixa
Bubble-gall tephritid
Aciurina trixa is a gall-forming tephritid fly that induces spheroidal bud galls on host plants in the genus Chrysothamnus (Asteraceae). It is multivoltine with three larval instars, typically producing one larva per gall. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism: females are larger overall, while males possess enlarged forefemora that predict copulatory success. It is unusually common and abundant in New Mexico and Arizona, where it supports complex arthropod communities including 24 associated species across 6 guilds.
Asteromyia chrysothamni
Asteromyia chrysothamni is a gall midge species in the family Cecidomyiidae, described by Felt in 1918. The species is associated with Chrysothamnus, a genus of rabbitbrush shrubs in the Asteraceae family. Like other members of its genus, it induces gall formation on host plants. The species has been documented through iNaturalist observations, though detailed biological studies remain limited.
Crossidius hirtipes flavescens
Crossidius hirtipes flavescens is a subspecies of longhorned beetle in the tribe Trachyderini, originally described as C. rhodopus flavescens by Chemsak & Linsley in 1959 and later transferred to C. hirtipes by Linsley & Chemsak in 1961. It is one of 16 recognized subspecies of C. hirtipes, a species characterized as 'probably the most diverse species within the genus.' The subspecies is known from a restricted area around Kennedy Meadow in Tulare County, California, and has been documented on yellow rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus).
Crossidius hirtipes rhodopus
Crossidius hirtipes rhodopus is a subspecies of longhorned beetle in the tribe Trachyderini, originally described as a full species by Linsley in 1955 but later treated as a subspecies of the highly polytopic C. hirtipes. It is endemic to the Mono Basin of east-central California and is among the most distinctive of all C. hirtipes subspecies due to its dark reddish-brown coloration. Adults are active in late summer and early fall, feeding on flower heads of yellow rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus).
Stenostrophia tribalteata sierrae
Stenostrophia tribalteata sierrae is a subspecies of longhorned beetle (family Cerambycidae) described by Linsley & Chemsak in 1976. It belongs to the subfamily Lepturinae, a group commonly known as flower longhorns for their frequent association with flowers. The subspecies is known from the Sierra Nevada region of California and Nevada, with specific records from Washoe County, Nevada. Adults have been observed in spring and fall, suggesting bivoltine or extended adult activity.