Essex gall report 2001-2002
It is now 15 years since Oak Galls of Essex was published and the author is anxious to write up the
Essex cynipids before the data become too ancient There are still some poorly recorded squares.
mainly on the periphery of the county and any member visiting these areas is requested to lookout
for at least the more obvious Cynipid galls such as Knopper, Oak Apple, Oak Marble and Robin's
Pincushion. The list below indicates some target squares:
Poorly recorded squares:
TL30; TL40; TL44; TL54; TQ38; TQ39; TQ48; TQ57, TQ67; TR09
My thanks to all those who have submitted records; as always, I am happy to examine gall specimens
or receive records from any part of Essex and also now from Suffolk.
References
BOWDREY, J. (2001) Andricus aries (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) - a gall wasp new to Essex. Essex
Naturalist (New Series) 18: 64.
ECOTT, B.(2002) The maple bladder gall of Vasates quadripedes : a second record. Cecidology 17(2): 84.
The flat-footed fly Agathomyia wankowiczii (Schnabl) (Diptera: Platypezidae),
a gall inducer on Artist's Fungus (Ganoderma applanatum) (Fr. Ex Pers.)
Patouillard, new to Essex
JERRY BOWDREY
Colchester Museums, 14 Ryegate Road Colchester CO1 1YG
Abstract
Agathomyia wankowiczii (Schnabl) is added to the County list on the strength of fresh galls on the
fungus Ganoderma applanatum (Fr.Ex Pers.) Patouillard (Ganodermataceae) collected at Hatfield
Forest by Charles Watson in 2002.
Introduction
Only three insect species (all Diptera) arc definitely known to initiate galls on the fruiting bodies of
fungi in Britain. Two are Cecidomyiidae and the other, the subject of the present paper, belongs to
the Platypezidae and galls the bracket fungus Ganoderma applanatum (Redfern et al. 2002).
Agathomyia wankowiczii was added to the British list by Spooner (1991) on the strength of galled
brackets of G applanatum found near Wisley in Surrey. In 1994 the gall was found in Kent (Pitt
1994) and since then has been found at several sites in the west of that County (Pitt 2002).
The first record for East Anglia was from Brcssingham, Norfolk where galls were found on Populus
in February 2002 (Bull 2002) and refound at the same site later that year (Chandler 2002)
In December 2002, at the Field Club's Annual Social, Charles Watson exhibited a galled bracket of
G. applanatum collected earlier in the year from Beech Fagus sylvatica at Beggarshall Coppice,
42
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 20 (2003)