Juniper Shoot Gall
Walshomyia ?
This gall is on foliage of Red-berry Juniper, Juniperus coahuilensis, in Sycamore Creek, Mazatzal Mts., Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA. 14 March 2015.
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Normally by the end of January red-berry juniper trees are stripped clean of berries, having been eaten by a wide variety of birds. These galls are about the same size and color as the berries, but appear in spring as new foliage is growing. Cut away, a small orange larva belonging to a gall midge is to be found at the center. The biology and life cycle has, apparently, been little studied. There are at least ten juniper species in Arizona - and an unknown number of gall midge species that use them as hosts. The larva at the center of the cut-open gall below is less than 2mm long.
