Monthly Archives: May 2014

Neighbors

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

Here’s a view of a bald-faced hornet I don’t get to see very often: I took these photos a few minutes ago through the sliding glass door that leads from our kitchen to our deck. When we moved in last … Continue reading →

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Chickweed Moth

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

I’m interrupting this barrage of Arizona oak galls to bring you a moth from my front yard. Julia spotted it this morning as it dove into the lawn just a few feet from our front door. It’s pretty tattered, but a … Continue reading →

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Arizona Oak Galls, Part 5

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

Here is yet another gall from Arizona white oak. It is another “oak apple,” superficially similar to these, which I now know to be Atrusca aggregata (thanks to Jim Zimmerman, who has studied southwestern cynipid galls for many years and … Continue reading →

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Arizona Oak Galls, Part 4

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

Here is yet another type of gall found on the underside of oak leaves in Madera Canyon. Seven weeks after I collected these, two parasitoids emerged. The one above is another male Torymus (Torymidae), which may or may not be the same … Continue reading →

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Arizona Oak Galls, Part 3

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

Okay, having looked at photos of all the possible species, I’m pretty well satisfied that Arizona white oak (Quercus arizonica) was the host of all of the galls I collected in Madera Canyon that actually produced adult cynipid wasps. Armed … Continue reading →

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Arizona Oak Galls, Part 2

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

Gall #2 is a fancy cup-shaped one found on the undersides of leaves, sometimes in clusters. A month after I collected them, the galls (kept in a tightly sealed vial) had become covered with mold, but a single wasp chewed … Continue reading →

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Arizona Oak Galls, Part 1

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

On my trip around the western US in the fall of 2012, I mostly limited my collecting to leafminers.  However, I made an exception when I got to Madera Canyon, Arizona, because I had found all kinds of interesting oak … Continue reading →

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Monthly Mystery #18: Buckeye Bugs

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Charley Eiseman

Early spring is a great time to be investigating signs of insects on plants, because with all the leaves being fresh, there is a good chance of finding the insects themselves, perhaps even catching them in the act of leaving … Continue reading →

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