Tag Archives: gall

Oak Apples & Plums

Posted on April 10, 2012 by

In the final hours before our deadline, as we finished up the introduction to Tracks & Sign of Insects, Noah threw in this sentence: “We no doubt missed many things and probably misidentified a few.”  I knew the first part was … Continue reading →

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Ant-attracting Galls

Posted on January 29, 2012 by

A few months ago I mentioned that Hurricane Irene had brought down some interesting galls from the treetops, and I’m just now getting to that point in my photo sorting.  There was one spot in the woods where the freshly … Continue reading →

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The Tiniest Moths

Posted on December 26, 2011 by

I first mentioned the moth family Nepticulidae a couple of months ago when musing about the feathery wings of the tiniest insects.  I included this photo, which shows the first adult nepticulid I ever encountered–this past July, on my bedroom … Continue reading →

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Ovipositors

Posted on December 6, 2011 by

In one of my first posts, I wrote about some goldenrod rosette galls I collected and the things that were emerging from them.  I pointed out how this female torymid wasp could be recognized by her long ovipositor, which allows her to insert … Continue reading →

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Late Bloomer

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

This time of year I’m always on the lookout for witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) flowers.  One last burst of life before everything shuts down for the winter.  They usually start to appear in the middle of October, but this year … Continue reading →

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Acorn Pip Galls

Posted on October 14, 2011 by

Last month Noah Charney, Sydne Record, and I spent four days surveying the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts for galls, leaf mines, and other species-specific invertebrate signs.  The Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative had put out a request for proposals for research that … Continue reading →

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Grape Midge Galls

Posted on July 5, 2011 by

On June 13 a friend brought me some sprigs of her grape vine that were covered with succulent swellings.  They seemed like a good match for the drawing in Gagné (1989)* for Janetiella brevicauda, but this statement made me want to double-check: … Continue reading →

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Hackberry Midge Galls

Posted on June 28, 2011 by

I’m in Burlington, Vermont for the week, and I’ve been taking advantage of the relative abundance of hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) trees here in the Champlain Valley to look for the galls of Celticecis midges.  Gall midge specialist Dr. Raymond J. … Continue reading →

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A Flurry of Emergences

Posted on May 16, 2011 by

I had four different insects emerge (or try to emerge) yesterday, and I think I’ll just show them all here rather than make four different posts. First, to follow up on my last post, another Tischeria quercitella mine yielded an … Continue reading →

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Scrub Oak Swellings

Posted on May 3, 2011 by

On March 19 I walked up a hill in my town called Mount Lincoln.  When I got to the top I remembered why I never go there; like many high points around here it is denuded by an access road, … Continue reading →

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