Rabdophaga salicisrhodoides

Host: Salix humilis

Salix
Bud gall comprising many modified leaves
Leaves loose, exfoliate, forming an open rosette
Leaves almost as wide as long
Gall leaves more sessile, the gall longer than wide

[A drawing of this gall appears on page 277, Figure 410]

The gall simulates an elongated rose blossom. It is 1-2 cm in diameter and 2-5 cm long.

Range: IL

[Note referring to this and several other bud gallers]: Leaves of these galls are typically largest on the outside of the gall but narrow considerably toward the center of the gall. In this key only the outer leaf shape of the mature gall is described. The gall formers are always at the heart of the gall, surrounded by linear leaves. The larva feeds upside down and reverses position before pupation. The gall makers have one generation per year, are full grown in fall, overwinter in the gall in a cocoon, and pupate the following spring. Infested twigs are considerably stunted.

- Raymond J. Gagne: (1989) The plant-feeding gall midges of North America^©