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Hi Steve & All, Aug 7, 2014
That is an awfully long preamble just to point out a spelling error !
Knapweed; yes.
What is that fly called ?
I made some drawings in 1951 of a very fat larva (3.6 mm long, March 14)
and pupa (3.6 mm long, April 20) from a 'gall on unknown plant' which I
subsequenty learned to be Goldenrod. Below this is an unfinished drawing of
an adult fly (4.5 mm long, 21 antennomeres, reduced wing venation, April 26)
with location unspecified. So perhaps from a similar gall.
These galls are easier to find after leaves have shed and are (were ?)
reasonably common in the Kentville area. Are they found on all Goldenrods or
on a select few species ?
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Shaw" <srshaw@Dal.Ca>
To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2014 10:06 PM
Subject: RE: [NatureNS] Fall Dandelion, ants
> Hi Dave * 2 and others,
> Earlier, last year, Fred Schueler mentioned a fly that makes galls in
> golden rod stems, and that has an interesting life history. The larva
> overwinters in the gall during the freeze-up, but according to the Storeys
> makes protective antifreezes, so is able to survive, eventually pupate and
> emerge successfully the following spring. The adult is figured in Steve
> Marshall's recent compendious 'Flies' book, that I'd also endorse
> enthusiastically. The Golden Rod Fly can't fly very well or at all, so if
> its clump of golden rod is an isolated stand it may remain confined there
> as if marooned on an island. Last year I examined a very large
> interconnected stand of the plant on the seaward side of York Redoubt (old
> fort outside Halifax) that looked like prime real estate for the fly, but
> didn't find any galls at all.
>
> In the Mt Uniacke House grounds the weekend before last the golden rod
> flowers (popular with flies) were just coming out, and I examined ~15
> isolated stands of the plant, probably averaging 20-30 feet separation.
> Only one had a number of galls (8), another had one, and the rest had
> none. Has anyone in their local travels come across larger numbers of
> galls anywhere? They are quite obvious, greenish-yellow like the stem and
> placed about 3/4 of the way up it, and about 1.5 cm in diameter. I'd
> like to collect a few specimens but don't want to decimate the small group
> of 8 at Mt Uniacke. I don't know if it is at all realistic, but a few
> weeks with the gall in the fridge might possibly be enough to simulate
> winter and hasten development of the larva to pupa, and stimulate
> emergence in a month or so, without me having to wait until next Spring.
> Steve (Hfx)
> P.S. The only other insect-attractive flowerhead abundant at Mt U was the
> purplish thistle-like 'Ironweed' (the name I was given). Whether or not
> it is the same species, shouldn't Knapweed be spelled with a 'K'?
> ________________________________________
> From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] on
> behalf of David & Alison Webster [dwebster@glinx.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 6, 2014 7:12 PM
> To: NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca
> Subject: [NatureNS] Fall Dandelion, ants
>
> Dear All, Aug 6, 2014
> Gnapweed (Centaurea nigra) is just about over now in the yard and Wild
> Carrot (Daucus carota) is half spent so Fall Dandelion (Leontodon
> autumnalis) has become a prefered spot for feeding; 4-5 species of small
> Bees loaded with pollen this morning. White Clover continues to feed the
> odd Bumble Bee.
>
> I don't recall having noticed this previously but the most recently
> expanded umbels of WC (which also had more insects than older umbels) were
> facing the sun. Also late this afternoon all of the L. autumnalis flowers
> were closed up tight; presumably they will open again tomorrow.
>
> I saw flying ants twice today; a small swarm emerging from the ground
> at 68 Campbell and one ant ~3 hours later at 16 Overlook.
>
> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2014.0.4716 / Virus Database: 3986/7988 - Release Date: 08/05/14
>
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