April 30, 2008 These "eyespot" galls look like a Red Maple tree is suffering a case of Chicken Pox! If you turn over a leaf with these galls you may find the larva in the center of the gall, they are about the size of a pinhead. This photo was taken with a macro lens. Because of the small depth-of-field even the slightest breeze can make a photo out of focus. I had to take several photos before I got this.
This Red maple leaf looks as though it has a case of the Chicken Pox! These are Ocellate or Eyespot maple galls seen from the top of a leaf. The little bumps in the middle of each gall contains a single Ocellate midge larva. (See following photo) Even though these galls are unsightly, they do not cause harm to the tree.
Great Smoky Mountains NP May 10, 2008 These cicadas were everywhere in Cades Cove the day we hiked there. The ground had thousands of holes where they had emerged; the grass, trees, and even fence posts had discarded nymph skins, and the newly emerged adults were drying their wings wherever they could. We could hear the males in the forest making their high-pitched mating calls.
