What is in a Goldenrod Gall? December 14th 2020

 12/14/2020 I was out today with my family for an afternoon hike. It was about 24 degrees, very little wind and overcast. Day before the new moon. Alaina and Chris decided to take some goldenrod galls (hard bulbous growth) to open up and check out. When we got home we opened them with with a knife and sure enough, found several larvae of the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis). Some galls only had one and others had two larvae inside. We read that the gall flies emerge from the goldenrod gall in the spring, mate and new eggs are deposited on goldenrod. The larvae hatch in September, eat their way into a bud and cause the gall to form. The larvae spend the winter in the gall.






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