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Project Noah Nature School
? Glycaspis sp
Numerous small pale green bubble-like galls (2mm wide) on the upper surface of gum leaves. Galls were all of the same size and felt hard to the touch.
These were spotted on the leaves of a young swamp gum tree (Eucalyptus ovata)
These galls were very different to the numerous other types seen on the gum trees in this area. These galls might be produced by Psyllids that are sap sucking Hemipteran insects that look like miniature cicadas. A few Psyllid species are said to produce galls on eucalyptus trees and are currently treated as pests in some countries were gum trees were introduced. An excerpt from Integrated Pest Management of Eucalypt Psyllids (Insecta, Hemiptera, Psylloidea) supports the suggestion that these galls are produced by Psyllids ( plant lice) "These authors also observed large populations of the psyllid on E. nitens, E. dalrympleana and E. maidenii. Other host species mentioned in the literature are E. leucoxylon, E. mannifera maculosa, E. pauciflora, E. longifolia, E. rodwayi, E. ovata, E. nitida (Taylor, 1997), E. amplifolia, E. dunnii, E. robusta, E. rostrata and E. tereticornis (Burckhardt et al., 1999)."
Spotted on Sep 4, 2012
Submitted on Sep 5, 2012
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