Galls on Ashe Juniper (Juniperus ashei)

by Bob Harms ()
The terminal yellowish scales enveloping a reddish-brown-tipped structure (pictured below) of January branchlets of J. ashei were studied in the hope that they represented ovulate cones. Instead, the brown-tipped structured was discovered to be a loose fusion of two scales containing a bright orange larva - i.e., it was a gall Walshomyia texana (with thanks to Harlin Hanson for tracking this down). The larva is that of a gall midge (noted in R.H. Painter, The biology of some dipterous gall-makers, Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 8, 1935).

The images were scanned directly from branchlets collected in mid January, 2000.

gall growth gall growth

Three views of the same gall structure surrounded by ternate scales.
gall from the side gall from top gall from top angle

Scales removed to reveal the the gall-containing scale shell.
scale pulled back to show gall shell yellow scales removed all scales removed

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