Yet another new herb gall wasp genus? A new group of <i>Silphium gall wasps</i>
If you read my posts last summer about the "top galls" to look for in 2023, you might recall some discussion of blister-like galls growing on the leaves of Silphium plants. These unassuming leaf swellings are quite unusual amongst Silphium gall wasps, especially given that most species induce only inconspicuous galls hidden within the host plant's tissues, and that the cauline leaves of most Silphium species are quick to shrivel up and break away during the growing s...