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On 8/22/2013 11:35 PM, Stephen R. Shaw wrote:
> I noticed a number of galls on goldenrod at Mt Uniacke recently. With a
> few dozen overwintered galls, it might be neat to try to repeat this
> here to see what variety emerges, though March is a bit extreme here for
> gall-snipping. Any takers? Has anyone looked at this locally, even at
> Science Fair level? Maybe the Storeys know about this as a side effect
> of the cryo work?
* I've never heard them mention the Beetle - maybe it's only
cold-tolerant to Pennsylvania? Seeing what emerges from the galls in the
spring is worthwhile, if only
Here's the substance of Ken's reply about Eurostra showing up at a new
location -
"The reporting of Eurosta and Epiblema is totally spotty and anecdotal.
The adult insects can only 'hop' in the air and so the distribution of
both insects has a FOUNDER EFFECT with heavily infested plots right next
to no-insects-ever. It is likely that they are distributed as far north
as the host plant and have been present forever and just not seen
before in Panda Poop Nova Scotia or Upper BugFuck Ontario. In the
beginning when we did general articles we heard from Northern Ontario
WAY up about frozen snakes that they had thawed out and tons of insect
galls that they had not noticed before but after reading about us in
"Nature for Kids" magazine they had cut them open, written to me about
it, and then they had gone back to their usual activities. Cherchez the
distribution of their HOST goldenrod. They will follow that like turtles
follow 'degree days.' If it is going north, THAT is what to look for."
I've looked for galls in northern Ontario, but the impediment to finding
a range limit has been my deficient Goldenrod species-level
identification skills.
fred.
==================================================
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
> Quoting Fred Schueler <bckcdb@istar.ca>:
>
>> On 8/22/2013 1:35 PM, Randy Lauff wrote:
>>> They are not uncommon here in Antigonish,
>>
>> * they're studied by Ken & Janet Storey at Carleton Univeristy -
>> http://http-server.carleton.ca/~kbstorey/insects.htm
>>
>> "LIFE HISTORIES of GOLDENROD GALL INSECTS - Eurosta solidaginis
>> (Fitch) (Diptera, Tephritidae) is the larva of the goldenrod gall fly.
>> Eggs are laid in the growing tips of goldenrod plants in the spring
>> and when they hatch the larvae bore into the center of the stem and
>> start to eat. Secretions of the larvae mimic plant hormones and cause
>> the plant to form a ball gall around them and to stock the inside of
>> the gall with cells that are high in nutrients which the larvae eat.
>> Third instar larvae reach maximum size by early autumn. They bore a
>> tunnel out to near the surface of the gall (leaving just the
>> epithelium layer) and then settle back into the center of the gall to
>> spend the winter. Downy woodpeckers and chickadees will tap on galls
>> until they find this tunnel and then dive in the get the juicy larva
>> which is a high fat winter treat for them. Once settled in the center
>> of the gall, the larvae respond to autumn cues (shorter days, cooler
>> temperatures, senescence of the plant) by preparing for winter. They
>> accumulate 2 cryoprotectants, glycerol and sorbitol, and increase the
>> supercooling point of their body fluids by adding ice nucleators that
>> stimulate freezing of the larvae whenever temperature drops below
>> about -8 to -10°C. The larvae survive freezing and can endure the
>> conversion of up to about 65 % of their total body water in the
>> extracellular ice. They endure multiple freeze/thaw cycles over the
>> winter and can survive to at least -30°C in southern Canada. In late
>> March and April, the larvae begin to break down their cryoprotectants
>> and get ready to pupate in late April. After 2-3 weeks, the adults
>> hatch, walk up the tunnel, push their way through the surface skin and
>> then set off to start the cycle again."
>>
>> I've written to the Storeys to see what they know about northern range
>> limits of the species, and if any increase of the range has been
>> observed with warming temperatures.
>>
>> fred.
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
>> Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm
>> Mudpuppy Night in Oxford Mills - http://pinicola.ca/mudpup1.htm
>> Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
>> RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
>> on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
>> (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
--
------------------------------------------------------------
Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad
Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm
Mudpuppy Night in Oxford Mills - http://pinicola.ca/mudpup1.htm
Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/
RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0
on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W
(613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/
------------------------------------------------------------
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