Two-tailed Gumtree Gall - Apiomorpha duplex

Family Eriococcidae

This page contains pictures and information about Two-tailed Gumtree Galls that we found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia.


Female gall, length 20mm

This species induces the world largest gall. It is attached to the twigs or stems of Eucalypt. It forms a four-sided chamber continuous with two long tails. The female inside is up to 30mm in body length.



The scale insects in this family Eriococcidae induce distinctive woody gall on plants. The insect lives inside the gall from 1st instars to adult. Female adult stays inside the gall while winged male leaves its gall and look for the females. The gall induced by female and male usually look very different.





Reference:
1. Insects of Australia and New Zealand - R. J. Tillyard, Angus & Robertson, Ltd, Sydney, 1926, Plate 14_1.
2. Insects of Australia - CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 461.
3. A Revision of the Gall-Forming Coccoid Genus Apiomorpha Rubsaamen (Homoptera : Eriococcidae : Apiomorphinae) - P.J. Gullan, Aust. J. Zool., Suppl. Ser., 1984, No. 97, 1-203.
4. Species Apiomorpha duplex (Schrader, 1863) - Australian Biological Resources Study, Australian Faunal Directory.