Eucalyptus vein galls

Description:

Situated on the main vein of a eucalyptus leaf these galls look like tiny citrus fruit. The galls have been produced by a small fly which forces the plant to build a home by chemical irritation. Sometimes one type of insect may have started the gall process and a second type may invade and develop the gall for its own purpose.

Habitat:

Eucalyptus leaves.

Notes:

Cynipidae in Australia... ..." In the northern hemisphere, cynipids are virtually all host plant specific, and can be identified by the unique morphology of their galls. Those associated with oaks (Quercus) have complex sexual and asexual generations. Cynipids that are gall inquilines (tribe Synergini) usually kill the primary host insect at an early stage and subsequently cause modification of the shape of the gall. The few native Australian species, several of which are undescribed, are possibly inquilines in the galls of various chalcidoids. Across Australasia, many species from various families of Chalcidoidea (eg. Eulophidae, Pteromalidae) occupy the gall-inhabiting niche otherwise filled by Cynipidae in the Holarctic region....... ...... This family is very diverse in the northern hemisphere as indicated by the 600+ species that occur in North America. However, the phytophagous Cynipidae are poorly represented in Australia and New Zealand, being known from only six and two described species, respectively, of which at least two are introduced. ".. - CSIRO
Fergusonina http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/forestry/forest...