Willow Gall Weevil?
These little critters are all over the Kilmarnock Willow in the front garden. I'm yet to see anything emerge from the (what I assume are) willow galls, but little beetles should emerge from them at some point.
Feel free to confirm or correct me :o)
posted by The Bird Woman at 10:44 AM
2 Comments:
Hi,
By chance I came across your site. The willow galls illustrated are caused by sawflies, NOT weevils. The sawflies belong to the genus Pontania...and there are many species infected the various species of Salix. The sawfly larvae (usually one per gall) feed on the internal tissues of the gall and produce a lot of frass. Sometimes they create a hole and kick the frass out. (Good housekeeping!). The larvae leave the galls and drop to the ground on a silk thread, detach and burrow into the soiul where they pupate.
For more about galls, why not visit the British Plant Gall Society Website.
Chris Leach (Chair of BPGS)
Thanks for that, Chris - It's always good to get a positive ID!
I'll have a good look round the site.
For anyone else interested the address is:
http://www.british-galls.org.uk/
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