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Project Noah Nature School
Two small shiny red galls of about the same size at the axils of opposite leaves on a young eucalyptus tree. Each gall would have been about 5mm in diameter.
Young eucalyptus - probably a stringy bark
These galls were like little stalk-less cherries - very attractive!. They might be leaf galls or stem bud galls because of their location and possibly caused by a gall forming midge. I will have to see if they develop any further. Galls are a common sight on eucalyptus trees. They are formed mostly either by an insect or mite which feed on the leaf or stem causing an irritation and excessive proliferation of plant cells. The insect then shelters and develops within this new growth. This gall is similar to http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/381...
Spotted on Sep 4, 2012
Submitted on Sep 5, 2012
3 Comments
I find this concept of mimicry in plants and animals very fascinating! it almost creates a "unreal" feeling in me!! How does it come into being? Is the wasp creating the fruit like structure?or the plant? Why would the plant want to create a fruit like structure,unless it is interested in protecting the wasp? Unless there is some kind of symbiosis.........
So true Mark!
It's almost fruit mimicry.