Woodworkers 



gall are ready for occupation, " a perfection of adjustment 

 which excites our deepest admiration." The larvae crawl 

 into the spaces between the already malformed leaves and 

 begin to feed by sucking the plant juices with their beaks, 

 just as their parents did. 



The feeding of the larvae causes further abnormal growth 

 in the gall, with the result that it grows still more and, in 

 doing so, completely shuts in the larvae, and the " pine- 

 apple " is formed. In each cavity there may be as many 

 as fifty larvae, and the whole gall may house two thousand 

 larvae. Late in the summer the larvae stop feeding and 

 the growth of the gall ceases ; so that at the end of each 

 cavity, where the larvae lie hidden, a small hole is formed, 

 through which the pupae escape and turn into winged 

 females. These individuals lay their eggs at the bases of 

 the leaf buds and the life cycle begins anew. 



