Grapes Sake Bottle Gall Midge

thanks Rieko, looks like we found the same site! Google translated it into English, but it's a bit hard to understand what she means...

thanks ForestDragon...

I found this website: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl...

Thanks Lauren... Couldn't check your midge reference, my internet is not fast enough to see the photos as it's such a long list.

I don't know about midges and flies at all, but the person who wrote the article also didn't seem to know if the photo was the correct fly. Sounds as if it was just a fly on a nearby leaf and she wondered if it was the correct one! A little difficult to understand the Google translation.

The fly in the reference link looks more like some kind of Empidoidea.

Midges of the genus Celticesis of the Family Cecidomyiidae cause this kind of Bottle gall on Hackberry too. I found it on this site, but you have to scroll way down to get to the midge galls:
http://www.wildemere.net/cgi/mt/mt-searc....
However, the fly in the reference picture doesn't look like a Cecidomyiid midge.

Lauren, there is a picture of the fly on the link I included. Nature is so amazingly strange and wonderful, isn't it!? I also often wondered about the galls on Oak trees. I saw so many different ones in California. Posted a few way back on my site!

Incredible galls and a most wonderful series!

So amazing that this is caused by a fly! Very cool. I wonder what chemical reaction occurs between the insect and the plant to cause so many different types of galls. Oak Trees for example have an extraordinary number of galls and every one is different for each species of parasite.

THANK YOU HarumKoh for the lead to the name of this gall. Nothing in English, but this is a translation from the Japanese.

nice found. I couldn't find english name, google this japanese word. "ヤマブドウハトックリタマバエ". the word is a name of fly.

Catching up! Thanks Braulio and sintjia...

thanks Leanne. I was really excited when I found it.

thanks Tom13, suzmonk, Lauren and Wendy

Congratulations! :))
Wonderful 3000th spotting! :))

Congrats on your 3000, Pam!

Wow! Congratulations Pam & what a great find for number 3000. I love them....whatever they are! :)

congratulations phew!!!

Very striking little galls! I agree with Tina, they look like little gnome hats :)
Congratulations on 3000 spottings!

thanks Gilma, and wishing the very best year for you in 2014...

Three thousand ... good job, you!

Congrats on 3,000! Interesting looking galls.

thanks Jemma and Tiz...

Beautiful spotting. Congratulations Pam, 3000!!
By the way Happy Holidays!!

thanks Antonio, Cindy, Doreen, Viv, ursulay, and DrNamgyalT.Sherpa, fir your kind comments...