Aulax glechomse. 



These galls occur on almost every part of the plant. The 

 month of June is not too early to seek them ; the following 

 month, however, is productive of more plentiful results. They 

 vary from the size of a small pea to that of an ordinary marble. 

 They are usually globular, occasionally pyriform in shape. 

 Frequently two or more will coalesce and form a much 

 larger and more irregularly-shaped swelling. The larval 

 chamber is in the centre, surrounded by the sponge-like 

 substance of the gall-structure. At first the galls are solid, but 

 soft and succulent, and they remain in a .sappy condition until 

 October. The nature of the exterior then begins to change. 

 The outer shell hardens and thickens, the inner substance dries, 

 and from it is evolved a number of sustaining processes, which, 

 radiating from the inner walls of the shell, meet around the 

 larval cell, and support it in a central position. In this con- 

 dition they may be kept without difficulty through the winter ; 

 the imagines emerge during May. The colour is at first green, 

 and in sheltered positions remains so, but where exposed, the 

 galls become tinged with pink and red. They are thickly 

 beset with long whitish hairs, which add considerably to their 

 attractiveness. Towards the autumn these disappear and leave 

 the exterior glabrous. According to Reaumur, the galls of ,this 

 species were at one time eaten by French peasants. 



The illustration is of specimens gathered at Hastings by 

 the author. 



