Gall midges are tiny flying insects that lay eggs in developing blueberry flower and leaf buds. Larvae hatch and feed inside the bud, causing injury and yield loss. Gall midge damage to blueberry flowers is not very common in North Carolina, however damage to leaf shoots is very common. The symptom is called "black tip" due to the blackening of the tips of vegetative shoots. Older shoots that have grown past the black tip stage often exhibit leaves that are damaged only on one side.
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| Black tip symptom caused by gall midges |
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| Leaf distortion following gall midge injury |
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| Tiny white larvae within a blackened shoot tip | |
