cynestor's Favorites

Link to host plant Mojave Sage (Salvia mohavensis) observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200158479

White Sage Leaf Gall Midge (Rhopalomyia audibertiae) Endemic in California.
Gallformers: https://www.gallformers.org/gall/3243 (as of 2/22/24)
(Mojave Sage (Salvia mohavensis) is not listed specifically as a host in Gallformers as of 2/22/24, only Salvia apiana / Salvia leucophylla / Salvia mellifera ).
"Rhopalomyia audibertiae
Family: Cecidomyiidae | Genus: Rhopalomyia
Hosts: Salvia apiana / Salvia leucophylla / Salvia mellifera
Detachable: integral
Color: gray, red, green, purple
Texture: hairy
Shape: conical, hemispherical
Season: Spring
Alignment: erect
Location: upper leaf, lower leaf, leaf midrib, between leaf veins"

BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Rhopalomyia%20audibertiae

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What is a Gall? Gallformers: https://www.gallformers.org/
"Plant galls are abnormal growths of plant tissues, similar to tumors or warts in animals, that have an external cause--such as an insect, mite, nematode, virus, fungus, bacterium, or even another plant species. Growths caused by genetic mutations are not galls. Nor are lerps and other constructions on a plant that do not contain plant tissue. Plant galls are often complex structures that allow the insect or mite that caused the gall to be identified even if that insect or mite is not visible."

GALLS
Plant Galls of the Western United States: a photographic guide to 536 species of plant galls found west of the Rockies, with 400+ color images and plates, Ronald A. Russo, April 2021. (Available on Amazon)
Gallformers: Identify Galls by name or by host plant https://www.gallformers.org/id
INaturalist Project, Galls of California https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-california
California Oak Galls (photo guide), Joyce Gross: https://joycegross.com/galls_ca_oak.php
California Oak Galls Induced by Unknown or Undescribed Species (photo guide), Joyce Gross: https://joycegross.com/galls_ca_oak_undescribed.php
Nancy Asquith Journal: California Oak Galls https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-plants-with-mystery-galls/journal/44142-california-oak-galls
Nancy Asquith Journal: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-california/journal/44203-where-to-learn-more-about-galls
BugGuide: Identification, Images, & Information for insects and other gall-inducers, (US & Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/3/bgpage
BugGuide: Unidentified Tracks, Larvae, Webs, Parasites, and Other Mysteries: https://bugguide.net/node/view/696662/bgpage
INaturalist Project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/all-your-galls-are-belong-to-us

"One of these things is not like the other"

I was walking around Summit Park today. Almost all of the native trees here (let alone the oaks) are valley oaks, but up on the hill from the path nearby, I saw one large, slightly bushier oak with seemingly more pastel-colored leaves. I realized after taking a closer look that it appears to be a blue oak. It looks very old based on the trunk size (>a century old). I could not find any acorns on it, but that was also true for the valley oaks nearby for the most part (too many acorn-eating animals nearby)

Collected 9/15/23, refrigerated in a ziploc bag until 9/24 and dissected Quercus agrifolia acorn.

Preserved in 40% ethanol at 40°F.

Collected acorn from same tree, same date/time as the acorn gall observations below (2nd acorn):

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184824656

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/184823155

This is observation 1 of 3 that I saw earlier this year. The galls I found in these observations include an unknown 'cylinder' gall (I think they're attached to stems), and also a few of the leaf galls and possibly R. sulcata galls.
2) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126016049
3) https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/126016161