This gallery contains 8 photos.
We have no native members of the Moraceae in the UK, but a couple of species have been planted fairly widely, one the fig (Ficus carica), and the other the black mulberry, Morus nigra. The black mulberry has a murky … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
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
This gallery contains 8 photos.
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
The Wilderness on the Whiteknights Campus is home to lots of majestic trees, beautiful plants, bizarre insects and secretive animals; but what about life below ground? The soil contains a huge amount of biodiversity, from the multitude of microscopic organisms … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Whilst looking for galls on oaks last month I was lucky enough to come across this scene, some insects hatching out. Quite simple, but there is actually a lot going on here. First, what species is this? Looking at the … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
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
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Lotus corniculatus, Common Bird’s-foot trefoil, mentioned in the ‘Peas in the Wilderness’ blog a few weeks ago, also goes by the evocative names Eggs and Bacon, Ham and Eggs, Tomb Thumb, Fingers and Thumbs, Granny’s Toenails, Dutchman’s Clogs etc. In … Continue reading
This gallery contains 8 photos.
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
This gallery contains 7 photos.
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
This gallery contains 4 photos.
A succession of white Umbellifers (Apiaceae) can be found on campus through the spring and summer and well into Autumn. The first to flower is that harbinger of spring Anthriscus sylvestris (Cow Parsley) very obvious in April to June in … Continue reading
