OAK GALLS AND GALL INSECTS.
267
it is quite evident that the heroic attempts now being made by the
authorities to arrest the decay of the land will be abortive.
Time did not allow of an inspection of St. Mary's Church, almost the
smallest in England ; the chancel, blown down in the great storm of 1703, was
restored in 1879. On the way to the station, the Marconi Company's
"wireless" telegraphic stations now erected at Frinton was seen with interest.
A few members of the party remained down at Walton for the Sunday.
THE OAK GALLS AND GALL INSECTS
(CYNIPIDAE) OF EPPING FOREST.
By E. J. LEWIS, F.L.S., F.E.S.
[Read January 26th, 1901.] 
The study of Galls and Gall-Insects has never attracted the
amount of attention that so interesting a subject deserves,
although it affords a wide field for inquiry both to the entomolo-
gist and the botanist.1 Galls occur on a great number of plants,
and are caused by a variety of creatures, not only insects but
also by mites and worms. Among the worms we find such
species as Tylenchus tritici (Bastian) which belongs to the family
Anguillulidae, or Eel-worms, forming galls known as "Ear-
cockles," or Wheat Eel-worm Galls. The family Eriophyidae
(Phytoptidae) contains many species of gall-forming mites, those
red formations so often seen in great numbers on the leaves of
the maple and sycamore being examples. The swollen buds so
prevalent on the black currant bushes are due to the presence of
a species of mite, Eriophyes ribis (Nalepa), belonging to this
family, thousands of individuals being present in each bud, and
now doing such an enormous amount of damage that non-
infested bushes are becoming the exception. An allied form,
E. avellana!, is commonly met with on the hazel, causing the
buds to swell in the same way. Other species ( E. taxi (Murray)
and E. rudis (typicus) (Cam.) ) affect the buds of the yew and
birch, respectively, in a similar manner.
Gall-makers are included in several different orders of the
Insecta. For instance, the turnip gall weevil (Ceutorhynchus
sulcicollis), which produces swellings on the turnip and on the
1 Readers will find much information not only with regard to the galls of our county,
but also on the general subject, in Mr. E. A. Fitch's paper on "The Galls of Essex,"
Transactions Essex Field Club, vol. II., pp. 98-156. In this paper wood-cuts are given
of many of the oak-galls formed by the Cynjpina, as well as those on other plants made
by Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, &c. Mr. Fitch also gave abundant bibliographical
references. Ed.