Some Local Plant galls

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SOME LOCAL PLANT-GALLS.

SOME LOCAL B Y EDWARD A . E L L I S ,

PLANT-GALLS.

Hon. See. Yarmouth

Nat. Hist. Soc.

S I N C E the days of the Revd. E . N . Bloomfield, little attention seems to have been paid to plant-galls in northern Suffolk. The following list, made casually during the summer of 1932, with the aid of Connold's book of 1901 on " British Vegetable Galls," shows that much could be done with a little effort. T h e numerous indefinite malformations caused by larvae of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, and the swellings of shoot and leaf due to parasitic Fungi, have been excluded from the present paper. Several Oak galls were found, but these are best left for later systematic concentration. Many things, recorded heretofore in" perhaps one or two places, will be found pretty generally distributed : much depends on looking for the plant-malformations at the right season of the year.

DIPTERA, mainly Gall-gnats (Cecidomyidae, cf. E M M . 1904, p. 93) :— Rhabdophaga rosaria, Lw., is frequent on Salix alba, L., at Gorleston and should be commoner on S. aurita, L. R. saliciperda., Duf., occurs rather commonly on goat sallow, Salix caprea, L. Dasyneura crataegi, Winn., on young shoots of hawthorn; it is very conspicuous and widespread.

D. marginitorquens, Winn., is frequent on osier, Salix viminalis, L. D. persicanae, Linn., is found on Polygonum amphibium, L., apparently wherever this plant occurs. D. pteridis, Müll, (filicina, Kf.) on bracken, Pteris aquilina, L., at Herringfleet, Blythburgh, Iken, Trimley and probably abundant on most heathlands. D. rosarum, Hardy, is rather common on dog rose, Rosa canina, L. D. ulmariae, Brem., frequent on meadowsweet, Spiraea ulmaria, L. D. urticae, Perr., widespread and common on stinging nettles, Urtica dioica, L. D. veronicae, Vall., is very common on germander speedwell, Veronica chamaedrys, L. Scliizomyia pimpinellae, Lw., found to be causing abnormal swelling of the seeds in wild carrot, Daucus carota, L., at Brent Eleigh in September (R. Burn). Oligotrophus bursarius, Brem., was not noticed on ground ivy, Nepeta hederacea, Trev., tili found in plenty late in July ; the galls drop out of the leaves, making small holes. O. capreae, Winn., is frequent on goat sallow, Salix caprea, L. Contarinia loti, DeG., found on Vicia sepium, L., at Onehouse near Stowmarket on 24 July.

Clinodiplosis thalictricola, Rübs. (thalictri, Trail), occurs on meadow rue, Thalictrum flavum, L., at Beiton, Herringfleet and Bungay. Asynapta lugubris, Lw., is widespread on sloe and wild plum, Prunus spinosa and P. domestica, L. Urophora solstitialis, Linn., is abundant throughout at least north-east Suffolk, galling the flower-heads of knapweed, Centaurea nigra, L. Lipara lucens, Mg., is quite common on reeds, Phragmites vulgaris, Dr., beside the River Waveney from Beiton to its source in

SOMF. LOCAL PLANT-GALLS.

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Redgrave fen ; the flies Anthomyza gracilis, Fln., and Oscinis Jrit, Linn., with the parasitic hymenoptera Polaemon liparae, Gir., Ptcromalus liparae, Gir. and Haplegus flavitarsus, Mg., have been bred from the galls of this fly at Beiton.

HYMENOPTERA, both Sawflies (Tenthredinidae) and Gallflies > Cynipidae, of which the British species were revised by our Hon. Secretary in the Entomologist 1931, p. 150—1932, p. 133) were met with :—Pontania bella, Lad., was on almost every bush of goat sallow, Salix caprea, L. P. proxima, Lep. (Nematus gallicola, Cam.), on leaves of various willows, especially Salix fragilis, L. and S. alba, L. Rhodites eglanteriae, Htg., is frequent on wild rose, Rosa canina, L. R. rosae, Linn., the well known Robin's Pin-cushion gall, is familiar on the same plant everywhere.

Diastrophus rubi, Bche, is doubtless frequent and has occurred on blackberry at Bradwell, Burgh-Castle, Blundeston, Onehouse, &c. Xestophanes potentillae, Vill., is not infrequent on Potentilla reptans, L. Aulax glechomae, Htg., on Nepeta hederacea, Trev., at both Gorleston and Trimley, probably not uncommon.

A. hypochaeridis, Kief., found on sea-cliffs at Gorleston, Kessingland, Benacre and inland at Beiton, on cat's-ear, Hypochaeris radicata, Linn, [our Member, the Revd. Alfred Thorney, has sent us masses of this species to name, from Carbis Bay in Cornwall.—Ed.] ; the Chalcid, Eurytoma annulipes, Walk., was bred from all these gatherings. A. papaveris, Perr., has been noticed on both the poppies, Papaver dubium and P. rhoeas, L., at Beiton in July, but the capsules of only the former plant were swollen. The Chalcid, Eurytoma annulipes, Wik., was bred from a Bradwell gathering of the above D. rubi galls ; it also emerged from other galls (of its own causation ?) in Agropyron junceum, L., on cliffs at both Gorleston and Kessingland.

The allied E. aterrima, Sehr., was bred from the couch-grass, Agropyron repens, L., from the Gorleston ry embankment.

HEMIPTEROUS galls were caused by both Triozidae and Aphididae ; of the former the sole species noticed was Trioza galii, Fst., on Galium palustre, L., at Herringfleet and Blundeston during July. Of the latter :—Siphocoryna xylostei, Sehr., gives rise to deformed, greenish-looking flowers on honeysuckle, Lonicera perielymenum, L., in Gorleston. Aphis atriplicis, Linn., was on Atriplex hastata, L., close to Gorleston pier.

Cryptosiphum artemisiae, Buck., on mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, L., at Pakefield cliff on 3 September 1923 (Morley) and Beiton in May (Rumbelow). Brachycolus stellariae, Hardy, was found in Beiton fen in August on Stellaria dilleniana, Moen.

Schizoneura ulmi, Linn., on elm, Ulmus montana, Stok., at Orford in July. Tetraneura ulmi, DeG., on elms, probably of ths critical species Ulmus sativa, Mill., at Blundeston, Mendlesham and is generally distributed.

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SOME LOCAL PLANT-GALLS.

ARACHNIDA are represented by the Gall-mites* :—Eriophyes rudis, Canest, causes frequent Witches Brooms on birch.

E. brevitarsus, Nal., and E. laevis, Nal., are both widespread on alder. E. galii, Karp., was first discovered in early May by Mr. Rumbelow on Galium aparine, L., in which Situation it occurs here in all hedgerow areas throughout the summer. E. ribis, Nal., is still fairly frequent, despite the Board of Agriculture's strictures, causing " big b u d " in black-currant bushes.

E. macrorhynchvs, Nal., is present on nearly every maple.

E. similis, Nal., is widespread on sloe ; and E. tatanothrix, Nal., frequent on goat sallow. Phyllocoptes acericola, Nal., abounds on sycamore leaves ; and P. fraxini, Nal., on ash, particularly in damp situations.

EVOLUTION.

BY ERNEST A . ELLIOTT, F . Z . S . , F . E . S . ,

&c.

means development. Now it is evident, that whatever is to be developed, must be already in existence ; hence Evolution has nothing to say as to the origin of life.

Briefiy stated, the Theory is : all existing forms of life have been developed out of earlier forms. It has been both misunderstood and misrepresented. At one time Atheists hoped by means of it to disprove the existence of a Creator. Evolution practically demands a Creator to produce the original germ of life. Some asked, " Have you ever seen such development ? " ; others again asked, " Have you ever known a dog develop into a cat, or a lion into a tiger ? " As to the first of these we reply, that Evolution is the work of countless years ; to the second the answer is, that the existing forms are the ends of many branching radii whereof, could we trace them sufficiently far back, we should find the point whence they have diverged. For examples of Evolution we may point to the numerous varieties of horses, cattle, dogs, poultry or pigeons, on the production of which man has simply taken a page from the book of Nature.

EVOLUTION

T h e saying that " Like produces like " is true only in a limited sense. Man reproduces man, animal reproduces animal, but there are individual differences. It is rare in a human family to find two children exactly alike ; and so, throughout the animate world, there are individual differences. These may be so slight as to be negligible, or so great as to be advantageous or otherwise to the individual. Great strength or power of endurance may *A species of these Gall-mites (Phytoptidae), Tetranychus tiliarum, M ü l l . , was f o u n d to be swarming on L i m e trees at Nettlestead High Hall in 1929 by o u r M e m b e r , M r . W h i t e - C o o p e r . — E d .