Oak rough bullet gall (Disholcaspis quercusmamma) with a bodyguard that was collecting nectar from the surface of the gall. The wasps and ants that come to these nectar rewards likely deter parasitic wasps and inquiline hangers-on from ovipositing into the galls. 🌿 #galls #cynipidae #wasps #oaks

#gall #meme

'Tis the season to search for lumps on plants, aka galls! These growths are created in response to other organisms — often insects, fungi, or bacteria — injecting their chemicals into the plant. 🧵⤵️ Join the gall celebrations: tr.ee/ziMCEH

Gall Week Sept 2025 is here! Join the event: www.inaturalist.org/projects/gal... and Gall Week Umbrella Project: www.inaturalist.org/projects/gal.... #GallWeek #iNaturalist #Gallsky #botany #entomology #CitizenScience #CommunityScience #plants #galls #BioBlitz #NatureID #PlantPathology #Ecology

This was a fun collaboration, led by Guerin Brown @guerin-brown.bsky.social in the Forbes Lab @lordforbington.bsky.social - our teams found European parasitoids emerged from North American oak gall wasp species in western and eastern North America, which were likely separate introductions.

#Papercraft delta traps I made for a #SciComm booth about #spongymoth detection in #AK. They were a hit with all ages. Lots of participants mentioned they had seen these traps before, but never knew what they were! #Cricut project: design.cricut.com/landing/proj... #bugsky #entomology #craft

#GallWeek is happening May 3rd-11.th Join the project on #iNaturalist and document gall diversity near you: www.inaturalist.org/projects/gal... Event-sticker orders, open thru the 16th, can be accessed in the project. #gall #citizenscience #communityscience #sticker #entomology #nature

#Flowerfriday A Capitate Lousewort (Pedicularis capitata) grows on the side of Tanalian Mt with Lake Clark and the remote town of Port Alsworth, #AK featured behind. This land is Dena'ina ełnena land and has been known by the names Qizhjeh and Qizhjeh Vena for much longer.

GREAT NEWS from the courts today! Illegally-fired feds (including NPS) must be reinstated. BUT will DOI comply? You know the drill, team! Let's tell DOI to follow the law and rehire rangers. Stand up for parks and public lands ✊ Script and addresses at tinyurl.com/RehireDOI #RehirePublicServants

Eileen and James Kramer were fired from their jobs at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska, even though they both recently received promotions. A judge has found the administration's firings illegal.

Park rangers want YOU to help us protect our parks! This Saturday, 3/1, in solidarity with the 50:50:1 movement, plan a protest in support of your closest national park. Do it at 12 noon your time, or whatever best fits your secret plan 👀🤠😏 #ProtectOurParks #SaveOurParks #RehireRangers

Feron kingi making her way out of a red cone gall

This undescribed #tephritidae induced gall (www.jstor.org/stable/42871...) is easily my favorite #gall on rubber rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa). It's uncommon in my experience, having only encountered it twice. #bugsky #entomology #naturephotography #diptera

#Gall #mites (Eriophyidae) inside their gall on a #birch #leaf. #nature #macro

Last year I reared #moths out of a fireweed stem #gall that was growing in my backyard and gave them to a project sequencing moths in AK. Even in your nearest outdoor space there are #discoveries to be made. Stay curious. Results: portal.boldsystems.org/record/AKLEP... #nature #entomology

So what exactly is the Project for Awesome? Since 2007, my brother @hankgreen.bsky.social and many friends and online creators have come together to host an annual 48-hour livestream in support of great charities. Over the years, we've raised over $22,000,0000 for a huge variety of charities...

Cynthia makes beautiful fiber art capturing the magic of desert landscapes. I can't recommend her work enough! If you're ever near Ajo, AZ I highly recommend seeing it in person.

I walked the Cave Spring Trail every weekend for over a year when I lived in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. During that time, I had the privilege of documenting the development of many #galls. Here's one of my favorites. Details in alt text. #nationalpark #entomology #utah

An undescribed wasp in the genus Neuroterus emerging from her gall on a Harvard oak leaf; sped up 2x. #gall #wasp #oak #entomology #insect #bug #citizenscience www.gallformers.org/gall/3484

Honored for the acknowledgment in a paper by Ray Gagné et al redescribing Dasineura epilobii in #AK. I shared #gall development on #fireweed #plants over the summer via #iNaturalist, which helped confirm life history traits. #citizenscience #entomology https:/ldoi.org/1 0.4289/0013- 8797.126.3.292

A throwback to this beautiful spider camouflaged on a fir branch at a campsite in the La Sal Mts of Moab, Utah. Fierce Orbweaver (Araneus saevus). Taken with a pixel 4 and lens attachment. #spider #camouflage #nature #photography

My partner made 2"x2" framed needle-felted plant galls. Identifications and hosts in the alt txt. #gallsky #art #needlefelting #scienceart #entomology #bugsky #wool

In my family, we have a tradition called, "Deck the Galls!" We look for galls on our decorated tree and rear them out. If you have a tree, or outside-to-inside plant for any holiday, consider turning it into a science project. #gall #citizenscience #holidays #christmastree #entomology (1/2).

Dasineura swainei, spruce bud midge, in oviposition on a fresh spruce tip. Spotted while walking the pup last summer and was glad I had my macro-lens attachment for my phone in my pack! #gallsky #gall #macro #entomology

Spruce bud rust, Chrysomyxa woroninii, is an edible gall (mostly to the people of Sweden). Swedes know it as, "Mjölkomlor," or flour rolls. It's also a food source for grouse as captured by its Finnish name, "Teerenleipa," or grouse bread. #gallsky #gall #fungifriends #fungi #ethnobotany #nature

Midge emerging from its gall. #macro #gallsky #gall #bugsky #insect #bugs #nature #photography

A gall midge I reared last summer. Lots of parasitic wasps came from the galls as well. #midge #bugsky #insect #bugs #gallsky #gall #macro #photography

At the scale of this springtail, the bumps on a lichen are boulders and mosses are trees. #macro #springtail #nature #photography

That's not a Sandworm but a moss sporophyte! When their great teeth open outwards the spores inside the capsule are released. #moss #dune #scifi #nature #macro #photography #closeup

I'll be giving a free webinar Thurs, Dec 5, 7 p.m. Central time for the Minnesota Native Plant Society on the topics of #oak reproduction, #species, #hybrids, & #phylogeny / #treeOfLife, from my new book (press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...). Join us, and pls share! us06web.zoom.us/j/6977108818...

I love finding galls in unexpected places. The galls of Dasineura epilobii are often confused for normal buds and up in many artistic depictions of its host plant, fireweed. Recently, I spotted them on a headband made by the company, HappyAK. #gall #gallsky #insects #bugs #bugsky #entomology #art

An informal figure set from a mixed audience article I wrote on fireweed galls for the Alaska Native Plant Society's Newsletter. #gall #insects #gallsky #bugs #bugsky #fireweed #plants

Did you know that plant galls have been used as food, inks, medicines, and even pet toys? Click the image to see alt text that identifies each gall shown and how it's used by people. #gallsky #gall #entomology #culture #food #ink #cats #insects #bugsky #science #ethnobotany #ethnoentomology #bugs

To go along with my previous post, here is a fresh willow rose gall from a previous summer (Genus: Rhabdophaga). #bugsky #gallsky #gall #entomology #nature #notaflower #flowers #rose #insects #alaska #botany #willow #plants

Sought out by birds, avoided by moose, what appears to be a dried flower is actually a gall with a small midge inside waiting out the winter. Complex ecosystems form around these galls which often contain parasites, hyperparasites, and inquilines. #winter #gall #gallsky #bugsky #rose #willow #alaska

Sedgesitter sitting on a spruce. #diptera #fly #macro #photography #bugsky #bug #insects #entomology

Spruce-Labrador tea needle rust (Chrysomyxa ledicola) erupting from black spruce (Picea mariana). This rust fungus needs multiple hosts to complete its life cycle. Since the fungus is shown on the spruce, these spores will infect Labrador tea (Rhododendron sp). #rust #fungifirends #fungi #macro

A small wasp on haircap moss. Not sure on the ID, picture of wing venation in the comments for those interested. #wasps #moss #macro #macrophotography #insects #bugs #bugsky #emtomology

The spines of a spiny leaf gall induced by Diplolepis polita on a rose shrub cause difficulty for this plant bug nymph in search of a meal. #entomology #bugsky #gallsky #bugs #galls #rose #wasps #spines #spikes #insects #nature #macro #photography

Spotted this camel cricket (Genus: Gammarotettix) concealed in an acorn cap while surveying galls! #insects #bugsky #bugs #crickets #acorn #oak

Another beautiful gall: Beaked Twig Gall Wasp. Host was likely a scrub oak. #insects #bugsky #gallsky #galls #entomology #photography #macro #wasps

Plume moth on yarrow. #macro #macrophotography #insects #bugs #bugsky #entomology #moth #yarrow #Pterophoridae #photography

This Disholcaspis gall on a Gambel Oak looks like a fairy home! #gall #gallsky #bugs #bugsky #oak #insects #naturephotography #fairy #dreamhome

During a recent trip visiting family, I showed my nieces and nephews what an antlion looks like and how they hunt. Here's a shot of our teacher. #antlion #ant #lion #insects #bugs #bugsky #macro #macrophotography #nature #naturephotography #wildlifephotography #entomology #upclose #closeup

The Understory: Lichens, moss, lingonberry, and a mushroom grow atop a birch stump. 📸🍄 #fungifriends #fungi #mushrooms #alaska #photography #focusstack #nature #naturephotography #lichen #forest #decay #regrowth #photography #zerenestacker

An aphid pierces the stamen of a fireweed flower for a meal. #closeup #macro #macrophotography #photography #entomology #insects #bugs #flowers #plants #botany #nature #naturephotography #alaska

Hercules Carpenter Ant (Camponotus herculeanus) on a willow (Salix sp) leaf. #insects #ant #entomology #macro #closeup #macrophotography #photography #nature #naturephotography

A living emerald! This chalcidoid wasp is a parasite that specializes on galling midges. This one happened to be visiting Dasineura epilobii (fireweed bud gall midge) galls before landing on a fireweed leaf. #entomology #galls #wasps #parasite #insects #macro #macrophotography #nature #photography 🪲

An ectoparasitic wasp larva enjoys a meal from its host, a sawfly larva. #wasps #parasite #sawfly #macro #macrophotography #photography