Thorn_with_growth_2026-01-08 SW Michigan USA

A spot of color on a walk in the woods during a brief winter thaw. I snipped a bit of the branch, could have been from a wild raspberry or similar. Photographed with a 2.5x lens- the diameter of the branch where it narrows is about 2.9 mm. While processing I noticed what could be a creature near the bottom... did it cause the growth above the scar? I think I can see white legs, near the limit of resolution. If you view at full resolution (load original) you can zoom in quite far.

comments (5)

Ernst

Lion

Possibly a gall in genus Andricus. Posted 3 days ago
1. Ferdy Christant
  
  Lion
  
  Ernst, is your gall suggestion in relation to the orange plume near the top or the creature near the bottom.
  The bottom one looks like a scale insect to me:
  https://pnwhandbooks.org/insect/hort/landscape/hosts-pests-landscape-plants/ash-fraxinus-lecanium-scale Posted 2 days ago
2. 1. Ernst
    
    Lion
    
    Hi Ferdy. I based it on the fuzzy structure . I uploaded a image in March 2025 and the info I found then made me make the assumption that tis is a gall . https://thenaturalhistorian.com/2013/10/01/gall-wasps-fuzzy-orange-galls-on-pin-oak-leaves/ see info I searched included .At that time I still couldn’t identify my image with surtainty. Posted 2 days ago
  2. 1. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      Ah yes that makes sense and I agree. But I think Jon was wondering about the creature in the bottom of the image, which is trickier to see. Posted yesterday

Jon Reck

Lion

I'd like to learn more about both the fuzzy structure and the creature (which I know now is almost certainly a scale insect). I know on which trail I found them but don't remember exactly where. My memory of the encounter (also a fuzzy structure, degraded by managing a Corgi dog at the time) is that many (or perhaps all) of the thorns had red above them and at the time I assumed that the red was a bud... and maybe it was before being transformed. When I find it again I'll ask JoAnn to hold both dogs and look closely while they wait patiently (I hope). Posted yesterday

No species identified

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By Jon Reck

Uploaded Jan 11, 2026. Captured Jan 8, 2026 21:46 in GPM3+MG Dowling, MI, USA.

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NIKON D850
f/1.0
1/60s
ISO64

Captured in the winter. More winter photos.