Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 91. (Budapest 1999)
Skuhravá, M. ; Skuhravý, V.: Gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyidae) of Hungary
the gathered data from various points of view. And it is what we propose to do in the present paper. After a short outline of the history of researches dealing with gall midges, we present a list of gall midge species found in Hungary. We join also results of our investigation which we made in northern Hungary in 1988 and in the Mátra Mts in 1997. Then we evaluate the gall midge fauna of Hungary and compare its composition with faunas of other European countries. Attention is paid also to problems of the economic importance of gall midges in the territory of Hungary. HISTORY In Hungary researches dealing with galls caused by various animals were started to develop at the end of the 19th century with the zoocecidological activities of SZÉPLIGETI. He published (SZÉPLIGETI 1890, 1895) the first data about the occurrence of gall-causing animals in the territory of Hungary, together with descriptions of about 30 galls caused by undetermined animals which he found mainly in the environs of Budapest. Some of them were later described (or named only) by KlEFFER. The up-to-date knowledge about gall-inducing insects and mites were compiled by SZÉPLIGETI (1900) and KERTÉSZ (1902, 1903). SZÉPLIGETI (1900) mentioned 82 gall midge species from Hungary. The important French entomologist and specialist in Cecidozoa, J. J. KlEFFER, named three species of gall midges in honour of SZÉPLIGETI, viz. Janetia szepligetii KlEFFER, 1896, larvae of which cause galls on leaves of Quercus cerris; Dasineura szepligetii KlEFFER, 1909, whose larvae develop among deformed leaves on the vegetative tip of Campanula rapunculoides; Oligotrophia szepligetii KlEFFER, 1909, the larvae causing pustule galls on the leaves of Acer tataricum. The descriptions of several gall midge species are strictly associated with the territory of Hungary by the type-locality, e. g. Contarinia subulifex KlEFFER, 1897, from leaf galls on Quercus cerris, Contarinia cotini KlEFFER, 1909, whose larvae transform the flower buds of Cotinus coggygria into galls, both found at Budapest. KERTÉSZ (1989) described Asphondylia ruebsaameni, the larvae of which cause galls on the fruits of Ferula heuffelii. ACZÉL (1942) described Contarinia lentis, whose larvae transform the flower buds of Lens culinaris into galls. MÖHN (1968) described Lasioptera hungarica, the larvae of which develop inside the stems of Phragmites communis. In the 20 th century, five researchers contributed important knowledge about the occurrence and distribution of galls caused by various insects and mites in the territory of Hungary. MOESZ (1913) made a list of galls collected by SZÉPLIGETI and later compiled the results of his own investigations in his work "Die Gallen Ungarns" (MOESZ 1938). BÁLÁS in his ten contributions made reference to the occurrence of galls induced by insects and mites in St. Gellért Hill (BÁLÁS 1938a, 1939b), in the northernmost part of Hungary, at Komárom (BÁLÁS 1939c, 1941b, 1943) and in the southernmost part (BÁLÁS 1941a) and elsewhere (BÁLÁS 1939c, 1941b, 1943). He also paid attention to galls occur-