Spine headed apiomorph (Eriococcid)

Good. At least this one is nailed down. Now for the other 9999 :) It would be nice to think Lyn Cook might visit regularly.

Here is a definitive link
http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Tax...

Yes Argy Bee. It is interesting that all the galls are gone after some time.

The term windfall refers to apples and gall IDs :-)

Thank you I.cook.
This insect has been a puzzle for me. My ID is based on this link
http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au...
Also brisbaneinsects gives the name A. spinifer to something else
http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_... Upon reading D of S & E it concurs with you. ("male compound gall"). There seems to be some poor data out there for us novices. Thanks for checking on us.

Nice find and nice photos. This is Apiomorpha spinifer though, not A. pharetrata. You can see the spines on the tip of the head of the female. A. pharetrata females do no have these spines. The galls also differ in that the males of A. spinifer make a single cupule on their mother whereas in A. pharetrata they form separate pieces.

Update. Added new pic #6. After six months, all galls have been excised by the tree and new galls, (probably young females) are growing along the primary vein of fresh adjacent leaves, the next generation but no male galls were seen. To date, I have only observed this species of gall in two localities.

Good find... mystery solved. (must save a copy of that pdf)

Thanks to leuba. Your link hare, unravelled this mystery entomology.ucdavis.edu/gullanandcranstonlab/.../70Gullan_etal2005_B.pdf

Finally a link to this gall! Apiomorpha sp. The flared structure is a compound gall produced by the male scale insects!
http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au...

I suspect that yours should be spheroid and have been bitten by cockies martin.

Oh thank you, leuba. That shows the dimorphic galls very clearly. My tree with lanceolate leaves is probably not a box but I am not certain. I believe my female gall nsect plant her eggs into the base of the gall, stimulating the formation of the bizarre bell structure below, with gill slits for each offspring. Other species of gall insects simply drop eggs out of the anterior hole.

martinl, is the tree on which you found the galls a Grey Box? . You've probably seen/read this:
http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/__data/asse...
Galls on Eucalyptus mollucana. It refers to Apiomorpha sp scale insect.
I acknowledge that the cigar shaped galls on your picture are a little different to the ones on the website.

This gall is very unusual for us in Australia too. Sorry ZarinaSak I don't think they are edible at all. Eucalyptus leaves have toxic chemicals and taste dreadful. The gall tissue is tough and woody and they are full of grubs. No thanks.

Hi martin, this gall is unusual for us in south east asia. Is this edible?

Wow Martin! What a great gall and excellent, thorough treatment of it! Thank you

Yes. This is obviously quite a sophisticated subject. I will start reading now. The simple acacia gall wasps I posted before have got me going when I found out how critical they are in keeping the plant under control.... reporting back soon. Thanks.

Did you check the pic#5 which is the nearby males outnumbering their imprisoned females by bout 20 to 1?

Fantastic spot martinl and great information. Sounds like a complex but interesting subject.

very interesting and thanks for the cross section.

It's hard to find the name if this gall forming bug. Thanks for your comments.

Very nice and interesting photos. I've never seen something like this before to be honest.

Hi Martin, from the size I'd say a scale insect (in the family Eriococcidae), rather than a wasp gall. But I've never seen one this shape.

wow interesting !!

What an interesting gall...thanks...and welcome to Project Noah.