Botanophila seneciella

Botanophila seneciella, the ragwort seed fly or ragwort seed head fly, is a fly species in the family Anthomyiidae.

Phylum:Arthropoda

Clade:Pancrustacea

Class:Insecta

Order:Diptera

Quick facts Scientific classification, Binomial name ...

Botanophila seneciella
Botanophila seneciella on Jacobaea vulgaris in Kystvej, Storvorde, North Jutland, Denmark
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Anthomyiidae
Genus:	Botanophila
Species:	B. seneciella
Binomial name
Botanophila seneciella (Meade, 1892)[1]
Synonyms
Hylemya seneciella[2] Pegohylemyia seneciella[3]

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Larvae feed within seed heads of Jacobaea vulgaris (the tansy ragwort), often destroying all of the developing seeds.^[4] It is also found feeding on Senecio vulgaris (the groundsel).

These flies originated in France.^[5] Together with the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) and the tansy ragwort flea beetle (Longitarsus jacobaeae), the ragwort seed fly can be used for the biological control of the tansy ragwort.^[2] It has been approved and released for Senecio control in California, Australia and elsewhere.