Life in a gall: The biology and ecology of insects that live in plant galls [Book Review]

2012·0.55 MB·English

by  T R New

BookReviews
Atdifferent times Antarcticahas formedpart structions, as well as stunning images ofAnt-
ofseveral earliersuper-continents, thelatestof arcticlandscapes.
which, Gondwana, is now widely dispersed to In 1970-71 Ihadthegoodfortunetobeinvit-
form the present southern continents plus In- edtojoinatwo-month-longNewZealanduni-
dia. Antarctica provides crucial evidence link- versity expedition to Antarctica to search for
ingall ofthese,includingAustralia. Devonian fish fossils. It was an unforgettable
FindoutaboutAntarctica’srichDevonianfish experience and some ofthe finest specimens I
faunas from Southern Victoria Land and their discoveredarefeaturedinFrozen in Tlime.
world-wide links; the Permo-Triassic amphib- I have always hoped that someone would
ianandmammal-likereptilefaunaswithstrong writeandillustratethestoryofpastlifeinAnt-
linkstoSouthAfrica;thespectaculardiscovery arcticatoletothersshareitsfascinatinghistory.
ofJurassic dinosaur skeletons, recovered from Now Jeffrey Stilwell and John Long have done
high in the Trans-Antarctic mountains along just that for the first time and we are in their
the Beardmore Glacier; the discovery of fos- debt.
sil bird and mammal remains (including early I strongly recommend Frozen in Time and, if
marsupials)onSeymourIsland,offtheAntarc- youcan’tbuyityourself, Isuggestthatyourec-
tic Peninsula - and the fascinating stories be- ommendittoyourlocalpubliclibraryorschool
hindtheseandmanymore. librarysoeveryonecanenjoyitandshareinthe
Someofthedescriptionsareunavoidablyabit thrillofdiscoveryonafrozencontinent.
technicalbutdon’tbeputoff.Thetextisclearly
written and is backed bya nine page scientific AlexRitchie
glossary.Itisillustratedbyawealthofbeautiful 3F1raDsaelr,eyACCrTes2c6e1n5t
photographs, supplemented by artists’ recon-
Life in a gall: The biologyand ecology ofinsects
that live in plant galls
byRosalind Blanche
Publisher: CSIROPublishing, Collingwood, Victoria, 2012. 80pages,paperback,
colourillustrations. ISBN9780643106437. RRP$29.95.
The intricaterelationships between insectsand were studied, for example, by Alfred Kinsey
plants take many forms, from simple external long before his noteworthy studies of human
herbivorytothesubtleandhighlyspecificasso- sexuality.
ciations that can result in insects living within Galls are very special structures, as Rosalind
plants as highly co-evolved foliage-miners or, Blanchedemonstratesinthisexcellentshortin-
as here, gall-formers. These varied taxa induce troduction, and are induced by manykinds of
the plants to produce highly characteristic ex- insect as well as other animals and fungi. This
crescences (galls) that serve as a domicile for book is both highly readable and scientifically
the insect, leaving it unexposed to the outer informative, with its appeal enhanced by the
world. Galls have for longintrigued biologists. numerous excellent colourphotographs (many
Theextensivearraysofcynipoidwaspsforming ofthem contributed by recognised experts in
galls on oak trees in the northern hemisphere, theinsect groups depicted) andcleardiagrams
together with their numerous andequallyspe- that adorn each page. It brings together infor-
cific associates (so that each gall can become mationonmanyofAustralia’shighlycharacter-
the hub ofa community ofthe primary gall- istic and endemic endophyticinsects in a con-
forming species, its parasitoids and inquilines) text that emphasises their intriguing ecology
Vol 129 (6) 2012 215
BookReviews
cies. I found this account in places a little too
abbreviated—comment on Hymenoptera, for
example, does not mention many ofthe taxa
—
thatareusedasexampleslaterinthebook but
the synopsis does generally set the scene well
forthenexttwo chapters ongallinsectbiology
(‘Remarkable adaptations’, ‘Enemies of gall-
forminginsects’). Theintricacies ofthevarious
relationships are well considered, and it was a
pleasure to see photographs of my favourite
wasp parasitoid ofgall-formers—the spectacu-
GALL
LIFE lar‘dart-tailedwasp’ (Cameronella)thatattacks
Apiomorphacoccoids.Thefullarrayofsuchas-
THE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY OF sociates remains to be documented for almost
INSECTS THAT LIVE IN PLANT GALLS allAustraliangallcommunities.
The penultimate two chapters move to the
impacts andvalues ofgall-insects to people, as
pests (such as the citrus gallwasp, Bruchopha-
gusfellis) andbiologicalcontrolagents (suchas
the Trichilogasterwasps used to controlpestif-
erousAustralianacaciasinSouthAfrica). Oth-
er values include pollination, with the unique
ROSALIND BLANCHE
mutualisms offigs and fig wasps (Agaonidae)
describedclearly.
A final chapter, obligatory reading for field
andpeculiarities,andtheirvaluestohumanity. naturalists, shows how people can contribute
Written for the non-specialist, the seven (un- meaningfully to enlarging knowledge of gall
numbered) chapters flow logically in linking insects, through studying and rearing them.
centralthemes. Aninnovativeschoolprojectisdescribed,asan
In her introduction, Dr Blanche emphasises example of community contribution, and the
the great variety of galls, and that each may possibilities forparallelsareendless.
be highly characteristic, with its form and The book concludes with a short pertinent
host plant often diagnostic for the causative ‘furtherreading’list, aglossaryandanindex.
agent. Illustrations show several representa- Dr Blanche has achieved a great deal in this
tives, including the Uromycladium fungus gall shortbook;shewritesenthusiasticallyandcon-
on Acacia, which can be subsequently invaded veyscomplexinformationveryclearly. Itisalso
bymanykinds ofinsect, someofthemspecific verywellproduced. Ihavenohesitationinrec-
to this habitat; some photographs depict galls ommendingthebookasasignificantsummary
openedtorevealtheirinhabitants.Thischapter andintroductiontothevarietyofgallinsectsin
iswide-rangingandinformative,buthere (and Australia, and ofwide interest to naturalists of
later in the book) the cautionary comments manypersuasions.
on what we do not know pose many intrigu-
ing questions for investigation. The second TRNew
chapter is a broad introduction to the variety DepartmentofZoology
ofgall-inducing insects, emphasising the pau- LaTrobeUniversity,Victoria3086
Email:[email protected]
cityofknowledge ofmanygroups that include
some notable Australian radiations of spe-
216 TheVictorianNaturalist