Galls

Saturday, August 26th 2023

Galls are interesting 'things'. They are not everybody's cup of tea but I find them fascinating. Galls are abnormal plant growths caused by insects, like tiny wasps, mites, nematodes, fungi, bacteria and viruses. Galls can also be caused by feeding or egg-laying of insects and mites.

One that we find quite often at Foxglove is Robin's Pincushion Gall. This grows on roses. Each gall contains many chambers and a larva lives in each one over winter. Come spring the tiny wasps, 4mm in length, leave the gall to start the cycle all over again. In late spring you can sometimes see the tiny holes that have been left in the gall as the insects leave.

Another wasp causes a gall in a leaf bud of Oak, the Artichoke Gall or Hop Gall.

The underside of some Rowan leaves have a sputnik like gall growing on them. This is caused by a rust fungus.

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