Four-winged Gall

Apiomorpha munita

Apiomorpha munita is an Australian scale insect which forms woody galls on various eucalyptus species. Some are quite spectacular shapes and A munita is known for galls with horns or blades.
Adult female found inside gall of Apiomorpha munita Larvae approx 12 mm long //Corection: That is apearantly not a larvae but an adult female. Identification assistance by INaturalist. Apiomorpha is a genus of scale insect that induces galls on species of Eucalyptus. Galls are initiated by first-instar nymphs (crawlers) on new plant growth and, when mature, the galls exhibit marked sexual dimorphism. Those induced by females are among the largest and most spectacular of arthropod-induced galls whereas those of males are small and most are tubular.[1] Apiomorpha is known only from Australia and New Guinea although its host, Eucalyptus, has a wider distribution into Indonesia as well. Apiomorpha is currently classified in the Eriococcidae,[2] but this family is not monophyletic.[3] Morphology[edit] Adult female of Apiomorpha alongside a winged adult male on a pin Like other scale insects, Apiomorpha is highly sexually dimorphic.[1] Adult females are wingless, have very small (or no) eyes, and their legs are short and stubby. A female remains within the gall she initiated when a crawler, mating through the small apical opening of her gall. She reproduces inside the gall and her tiny offspring (≤ 0.4 mm) escape through the same small opening. Adult females of Apiomorpha can range in length from 2 mm to 45 mm, depending on species, and can live up to five years as adults.[4] In contrast, adult males of Apiomorpha are small (about 1 mm in length) and winged. Like males of other eriococcids, they do not have a mouth and, instead, have an extra pair of eyes on the underside of their head (i.e., they have four eyes, two on top and two underneath). Males leave their galls as adults and search for females. They are weak fliers and typically walk on their host plant looking for females before taking to the air. After leaving their gall, adult males only live about one day.[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apiomorpha Apiomorpha munita,Australia,Eamw galls,Geotagged,Winter

Appearance

The female scale insects are grub-like about 12mm long, tapered segmented body, plain cream coloured. Males are much smaller flying insects. The galls formed by the females in this species have four corners which extend to spines, blades etc depending on subspecies.
Four winged eucalyptus gall (Apiomorpha munita) Spectacular shaped galls created by female scale insects (Eriococcidae) on Eucalyptus. This one was about 50mm from one wingtip to another. Apiomorpha are eucalypt specialists. This structure is created by a female who ends up spending the rest of her life inside. Male structures are usually found nearby, much more numerous, and much smaller and simpler structures. A small group of males can be seen lower left. This one is subspecies Apiomorpha munita tereticornuta. http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:d8c61065-c2c3-4e12-a73c-64bbd8cd6875# http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_softbugs/Eriococcidae.htm Apiomorpha munita,Australia,Cardinia,Eriococcidae,Eucalyptus,Gall,Geotagged,Scale insect,Winter

Distribution

South eastern Australia
Gall structures of - Apiomorpha munita Identification assistance by INaturalist Apiomorpha munita,Australia,Eamw galls,Geotagged,Winter

Status

Common

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:8f4f2b42-841a-4433-811e-c198bf1e6576#

http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_softbugs/FourHornedGumtreeGall.htm
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderHemiptera
FamilyEriococcidae
GenusApiomorpha
SpeciesApiomorpha munita
Photographed in
Australia