Following two successful fall Gall Week events, let's try a spring gall event! Please mark your calendars: we will document observations between April 15-23, 2023. For more info and updates, please join the new project - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/gall-week-spring-2023
If you missed this year's shirt sale, you can now get it here - https://my-store-c0e6aa.creator-spring.com/listing/gall-week-2022-t-shirt
I got mine today - thanks, @tepary for the great design!
Merav
But our work is not done. Please don't document = photograph any new galls for this project. You can still upload all gall observations taken between 9/3-9/11. Future gall observations should go into other gall projects - local, global, etc.
Next, you can help identify galls. You don't need to know all galls everywhere. For example, you can filter our observations to your area and try to help others with species you already know how to ID.
It's also a great time to enjoy the incredible diversity of galls we all documented! Feel free to fave, write comments, and engage with others.
There are a couple of new resources I'd like to share with you -
@jeffdc and @megachile recorded a podcast/radio interview last week about galls and gallformers.org - https://www.toknowtheland.com/podcast/ep195
@naturesarchive and I recorded a webinar about galls' natural history last week, available here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oUAuMlMUEQ
And lastly, what were your favorite findings? what were your favorite findings by other people?
Merav
I hope you're having fun documenting galls! This is the last day to document galls = take new photos. You can upload them later on, but please don't continue photographing new galls after 9/11.
And today is the last day to order this year's t-shirt - https://www.customink.com/g/ygr0-00cn-3vhe
Have fun!
Merav
Great news, everyone - we got t-shirts!!
@tepary and their partner have designed an awesome t-shirt for us. We have decided to try another website this year. The printing quality is supposed to be much better, but it's slightly more expensive. Please note that 9/11 will be the last day to order a t-shirt!
https://www.customink.com/g/ygr0-00cn-3vhe
I hope you're all as excited as I am about Gall Week! I'd like to start a thread for local events, if anyone had time to organize events or would like to coordinate outings with others, we could do it here in the comments. I could also start other threads if there's a need.
Let me begin. I'd like to invite everyone for a webinar - Wednesday 9/7, at 5:30 pm Pacific time. @naturesarchive and I will talk about gall natural history. This webinar is intended for beginners and intermediate level, and everyone else interested! More info and RSVP here - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/plant-galls-for-the-curious-naturalist-tickets-407152834087?aff=bb
In-person events in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA
New to galls? No worries! Here's some info you might find useful.
Already know some, but looking for more info? Let's share some resources!
During Gall Week we will try to document the incredible diversity of galls. Galls are little structures on plants, induced by a few different groups of organisms, mostly insects. They often have interesting shapes, and many of them are colorful and objectively pretty. They can be found on leaves, stems, buds, and even roots. For a good background about galls, listen to this podcast interview with Adam Kranz from Gallformes - https://podcast.naturesarchive.com/2021/09/14/galls/
And a short episode about Gall Week 2021 - https://podcast.naturesarchive.com/2021/09/29/gallweek2021/
For Gall Week, we are interested in documenting the galls themselves or the gall inducers (adult wasps for example). If you're lucky, you might be able to document one of their associated species - parasitic or inquiline wasps trying to lay their eggs into the galls. We could add these to the project as well.
Since all galls are a result of an interaction between the gall inducer (such as a wasp) and the plant host, it is highly important to document the plant species as well. It is highly important for their identification. Please add the plant name in the observation's comments, and if possible in the "fields" as well. If you're not sure about the plant ID, you can post it to iNaturalist as well, and link that to the gall observation. Please note, you will have to add each observation to this project manually.
---if you've never looked for galls before ----
I'd suggest finding out what are the best host plants in your area. In the West: Oaks, Willows, Coyote Brush, and poplar, among many others. In the East: poplars, willows, and goldenrods (please correct me if I'm wrong). You can find them easily on iNaturalist. Try searching first for gall photos, so you'd know what to look for.
I'd like to share a few resources people can use in order to get started. Please feel free to add more - there are many great resources out there - let's share them! Are there any great books/ websites/ iNat projects that you love using? Please add them in the comments.
Here are a few suggestions, especially for the west:
Gallformers - search for galls by host plants - https://gallformers.org/
Galls of North America -
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-north-america
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/north-american-galls
Leaf and plant galls -
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/leaf-and-plant-galls
Galls of the Eastern United States - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-the-eastern-united-state
Galls of California -
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-california
Book - Plant Galls of the Western United States, Ron Russo, 2021
And please add other projects in the comments if I've missed them, and any other suggestions you might have.
Galhas de Portugal (focused on galls from Portugal)
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galhas-de-portugal
And Galls of the Iberian Peninsula (an umbrella project including the previous project, and others from Spain)
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/galls-of-the-iberian-peninsula
Please help us learn about gall resources you find useful - post them in the comments.
Happy gall hunting!
Merav
Join us for another Gall Week event! We will record observations from Saturday, Sept. 3rd to Sunday, Sept. 11th. Please note that you'd need to join the project and add your observations manually.
To get ready - please join the new Gall Week Project! (I hope I got everyone that was tagged on the original post on the 2021 project. Please tag other people who may be interested.)
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