Confessions of a Gall Hunter
Plant galls are tumorlike swellings initiated mostly by insects, but also by mistletoe and by some bacteria, fungi, and mites. With around a million species of insects known worldwide, their inventive feeding choices know no bounds: carrion, dung, pollen, fungi, leaves, nectar, sap, and blood, for starters. But only 13,000 species have evolved the ability to induce galls in specific host plants, thus co-opting the plants’ resources.
Natural History Magazine – December 2009 – January 2010