Gall-borer

Guides

• Mordellistena convicta

  tumbling flower beetle, gall-boring beetle, inquiline beetle

  Mordellistena convicta is a gall-boring beetle in the family Mordellidae, described by LeConte in 1862. The species is an inquiline that inhabits galls induced by the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis) on goldenrod plants (Solidago spp.). It has been studied as a model system for sequential radiation and host-associated speciation, with populations showing differentiation corresponding to the host races of their gall fly associates. Adults use olfactory cues from gall tissues to locate suitable host plants for mating and oviposition.

  inquilinegall-borersequential-radiationhost-associated-differentiationolfactory-ecologyEurosta-solidaginisgoldenrodSolidagochemical-ecologyspeciation-model