Trent University student Jordan Ahee has been credited with discovering a new species of gall midge (a small fly) which may help control the spread of common reed, one of the worst invasive plants in Canada. Mr. Ahee, who is currently a Master’s candidate in the Environmental and Life Sciences program, made the discovery in 2010 as an undergraduate student at Trent.

Mr. Ahee’s discovery is described in his research paper entitled A new species of Stenodiplosis (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on florets of the invasive common reed (Phragmites australis) and its effects on seed production. The paper appears in the April 2013 edition of The Canadian Entomologist, the journal for the Entomological Society of Canada. Bradley Sinclair, of the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes (CanaColl), and Trent Biology professor Dr. Marcel Dorken, are co-authors of the paper.

Mr. Ahee was a fourth-year Biology student conducting research for his honours thesis, under the supervision of Professor Dorken, when he made the discovery. “Prof. Dorken had found something curious in the seeds of Phragmites plants, which appeared to be insect tissue. I was looking for a topic for my honours thesis, so he suggested I conduct research to figure out what it was,” explained Mr. Ahee. “I spent a year gathering and examining plant tissue. We eventually determined it was an insect that had never been observed on this plant.”

Samples were sent to Bradley Sinclair, at CanaColl, who identified the insect as a new species of gall midge. “I suspected that it was a new species, because this was the first documented case of insects being associated with the flowers of the common reed,” said Mr. Ahee. 

Phragmites, also known as European Common Reed, is an invasive plant causing damage to Ontario’s biodiversity, wetlands and beaches. The plant, which is often found alongside rural highways, spreads quickly and out-competes native species for water and nutrients. “Using this species of gall midge to attack the reed’s flowers may be one way to control the plant,” said Mr. Ahee. “Although the ecological data is preliminary, our observations suggest that this insect has the potential to substantially reduce seed production in Phragmites stands.”

Mr. Ahee acknowledges that getting published in a journal is a high achievement for an undergraduate student. But he is also pleased with the uniqueness of his find. “It’s unusual to discover a new species which is in plain sight – people drive by Phragmites every day on the highway,” said Mr. Ahee. Although he is currently conducting research on another wetland plant for his Master’s thesis, Mr. Ahee and Prof. Dorken plan to continue investigating and gathering data about the gall midge and its effect on the plants.