January 22, 2021
Have you wondered about the ball shaped growths
on the dried Goldenrod stems this time of year?
Mary Zabriskie and I checked out some Goldenrod stems at the edge of the corn field near Dummerston Landing. I had read about Goldenrod Ball Galls in Mary Holland’s Naturally Curious Day by Day field guide.
The hard round gall is protecting a fly larva that overwinters inside the gall
and emerges in the spring as an adult fly . . .
. . . unless it becomes a tasty winter treat for a hungry bird!
The holes we found in each of the galls are likely the work of
a Black-Capped Chickadee.
Nature’s heart