Error message
Unable to fetch location details at this time.
Leafbud gall/ parasitic fly/nematode
Fergusonina sp (gall fly) and nematode (Fergusobia brittenae sp)
-37.9227, 145.243
Field Notes
Description:
These were dried and scrunched-up leaves at the ends of branches of a young eucalyptus tree. Several low branches showed a single leaf that showed this transformation. Some of the green leaves showed part of the leaf margin starting to roll over(pic #4). The leaf tissue had thickened and had a blotchy appearance.
Long and cross sections of the gall show multiple locules that would have housed the gall fly larvae and associated nematode.
The dried and shriveled leaf mass not brittle; it felt hard and solid.
Habitat:
young eucalyptus tree in a small reserve
Notes:
Thanks to Martin L for identifying this as a leaf bud gall formed by a parasitic fly. Further research shows that the gall is formed by a mutualistic association between the gall fly and a nematode. It is hypothesised that the fly provides transport to the nematode to other hosts and has some nutritional benefits.
Apical leafbud galls are said to be large and usually multi-locular
www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/z03112p048f.pdf
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222930903383545#preview
For a fresher greener version of this, you could see martinl's brilliant spotting:
www.projectnoah.org/spottings/8045518
Comments (9)