Category Archives: Galls

Thistle gall: what is it?

Wending my way to the Earley Gate on the evening of Thu. 13th, I found a small plant of Creeping Thistle (Cirsium arvense) in grassland with Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) not far from the Psychology building. What caught my eye … Continue reading

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Galls on Campus 6: Sources

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I cannot believe that it has been over a month since I posted anything on campus galls here.  It has not been entirely due to slacking, rather in the past month I have been gathering gall data and images from campus … Continue reading

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Galls on Campus 5: Filzgalls

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The galls I have described from campus so far are all recognisably gall like, but not all are.  I’m having quite a bit of trouble at the moment trying to distinguish some types of gall, which involve leaf rolling and … Continue reading

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Galls on Campus 4: Mite galls on limes

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Continuing our look at galls caused by mites, Figs 1 and 2 illustrate two nail or bugle galls caused by eriophyoid mites on common lime, Tilia x europaea, on campus.  These galls are much larger than those caused by mites … Continue reading

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Galls on campus 3: Mite galls on acers

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Many mites produce galls on plants.  Most gall mites occur in the superfamily Eriophyoidea; these mites don’t resemble the globular spider mites or predatory mites that you may be familiar with; rather they are cone or worm shaped with only … Continue reading

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Galls on Campus 2: Knopper galls

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One of the most recognisable galls (on oak, at least) is the knopper gall, caused by the cynipid gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis, and these galls have started to appear on campus (Figs 1-3) on acorns of Quercus robur.  Similar to … Continue reading

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