Gall-inducing insect Gall-inducing insect A gall-inducing insect is any insect that can cause the growth of galls within plants. The term gall fly is also used to cover these species, although most are not true flies. There are several groups of insects that meet this description. They include the gall wasps, scales, gall midges, aphids, psyllids and certain species of leafminer flies. Galls are growth deformities induced in certain plants by various insects which are mostly species-specific. The gall's form or type depends on what organism is attacking the plant and where the plant is being attacked. Based on the form, there
Rasberry crazy ant as cattle, have been attacked around the eyes, nostrils, and hooves. Grasslands have dried out because of the increase in plant-sucking insect pests (hemipterans), which the ants cultivate to feed on the sugary "honeydew" that they excrete. When attacked, these ant, like other formicine ants, can bite but not sting, and excrete formic acid through a hairy circle or acidopore on the end of the abdomen, using it as a venom, which causes a minute pain that quickly fades. Formic acid was named after the Latin word "formica" (ant), because it was first distilled from ants in the 17th century.