Pupal case
On a fir species, maybe grand fir?
on plum tree, only on Santa Rosa graft branch
First (of a few, I hope) gall former reared from this gall: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/197097097
This observation was divided from # 198452548. The original observation tracks the plant while this new observation tracks the galls that formed on some of the branches.
1 female emerged from one of these galls on tanoak:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195401835
Collected: 12-27-2023
Emerged: 01-25-2024
(Last 3 photos were taken on Dec 30 when the gall was still fresh)
From galls on willow collected 1 Sept 2021. Placed in refrigerator until mid February 2022. Discovered this fly had emerged 17 March 2022. The vials were fairly humid so the adult flies are in poor shape, quite soft and deteriorate easily when I try to pick them up. I moved them to alcohol to hopefully stop the deterioration.
Example leaf gall from same willow bush: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/93307708
Insect on Salix sp. with Melampsora rust fungi. It appeared to be eating the rust.
on Croton texensis
don't remember/recognize the host. Some herbaceous asteraceae I guess
Straw-like egg cases(?) stuck to walls and glass.
Galls on Guardiola arguta.
Observation referring to the needle gall, host photos included for reference
Galls on Ericameria nauseosa
Found on the grass species Hilaria jamesii. The galls look like onions
Maybe? Not sure what plant this is..
Host: Prosopis velutina. Guess of ID is based on other Contarinia species producing galls in the junction of leaflet pairs and the rachis of leguminous trees.
Another tree with the stem bud galls. On willow. Cc @tepary @awenninger
Oligotrophus betheli galls, per Russo's Plant Galls of the Western United States (2021) p. 80 and Gallformers.org https://www.gallformers.org/gall/1750
On Juniperus occidentalis (Western Juniper)
Gall on willow stem? Cc @tepary. Rabdophaga rigidae, the willow beaked-gall midge?
Collected: 09-04-2023
Dissected: 09-07-2023
Field observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/181851193
Preserved in EtOH for Cynipini Larval Sequencing Project
on bishop pine
Alder gall mite
Rubber Rabbitbrush; note the conversation associated with https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/153190620. The gall above is the same or similar but on Rabbitbrush, not goldenbush
On white spruce
Not sure on host plant - Oreocarya sp.?
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Edit: Host plant is Oreocarya sp., likely O. flava
?? The second photo is the uninfected host
Insect gall?
I'm assuming this is a gall. On cultivated Q. gambelii.
Gall found on a bigleaf saltbush.
Egg cases of unidentified insect? At first I thought these were galls (because that's what I was looking for), but on closer inspection I noticed the lids—some open, some closed—and one insect that was trapped while emerging. These were found on stems of rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa) near and with, but perhaps unrelated to many larger galls of "Cotton gall tephritid" (Aciurina bigeloviae) (see https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/61430574). In and around a dry wash channel on the alluvial fan 0.4 road mile northwest of the park entrance at Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Ione Valley/ Shoshone Mountains, Nye County, Nevada, elev. 6480 ft.
Two-lobed adult at the 1, 2, and 3 year old nodes of Englemann spruce. Also saw these at Philips Ridge yesterday. Grainy white liquid when burst. Quite sweet tasting and appears to be covered in sweet syrupy honeydew not pitch. Tops of the spruces appear more afflicted and color is off.
I went with this species instead of hemicryptus because my forest insects manual acknowledges this one in the west and not the other. Not certain though.
On ponderosa pine
on what might had been a willow??
Eggs on sunflower
Insect? Fungus? Infection on bromus marginatus
Thanks to @awenninger for reminding me to go check for chokecherry galls at this gas station. Abundant this year. Couldn't find any last year.
Host plant tbd
On Ericameria
Female crawling around on Ericameria nauseosa.