Galls and Crane Fly

A two-fer in this shot of a Witch Hazel leaf:This is a boom year for the Witch Hazel Cone Gall-maker (Hormaphis hamamelidis), an aphid. Read more about these tiny insects and how they force the American Witch-Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) to create these protective cone forms around their young. For more about the endlessly fascinating galls read here.

The insect perched here looks like a Genus Trichocera Winter Crane Fly. There are some 28 species in this genus in the the U.S. and Canada, and as their name suggests they can be found in the winter months, particularly in caves and mines.