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Apiomorpha minor
Small urn-shaped woody galls on eucalyptus tree stems. The narrower ends of the gall showed star-shaped splits, similar to gum nuts. Pic #4 shows the real gum nuts on this tree.
Spotted on a Eucalyptus tree in a cultivated part of a reserve - probably not a local native.
There were about five of these galls on lower branches of this tree. They were solitary galls and larger than the tree's gum-nuts. They looked very like the cocoons of the cup moth (Limacodidae), a case of another gum nut mimic- seems like mimicry all over again !! Apiomorpha are scale insects in family Eriococcidae. They form woody galls and female insect galls look very different to male galls. Apiomorpha galls are being revised. This gall has been identified by l.cook as Apiomorpha minor and I have amended this record accordingly. It was previously labelled A.pileata (Bishopshead Gumtree Gall). My thanks to l.cook for the correction. Lyn Cook explains "The small circular hole with radiating splits, rather than a single large slit opening, differentiates this gall from A. pileata."
Thanks Martin. Did not see any male galls although I did not have a good look around. The only other gall was on the leaf- the kind that looks like a bullet hole - a star-shaped eruption on the leaf surface.
They certainly weren't fresh looking.
Nice spotting Leuba. These look at least two years old and maybe inhabited or deceased. That would be a useful experiment to check. No male galls?
Spotted on Aug 7, 2013
Submitted on Aug 9, 2013
