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wasp
parasite
wasp gall
gall wasp
Cynips mirabilis


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Wasp Gall on an Oak Leaf

Wasp Gall on an Oak Leaf
Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a wonderful rest of your weekend! I haven't been able to get to my trip notes yet, so I'm posting another picture from our property. :)

Fall is Here!
As October marches towards November, the leaves are turning every shade of the rainbow and falling from the trees in ever-greater numbers. Steve and I have been oohing and ahhing over the amazing show whenever we're out and are hoping for a fall photography adventure in if we can fit it in between his projects.

Behold the Colorful, Odd Cynipid Wasp Gall
One might notice that a few leaves--especially from Oaks--have something strange attached to them. These 1/4"-1"globes are perfectly round in shape, hollow and semi-translucent when held up to the sun . Upon closer examination, there will be a small hole somewhere around the lightly fuzzy ball. What a curious thing! Whatever could it be?

This is a wasp gall! There are several species of wasps which lay their eggs in specific trees or other plants. When the larvae hatch and begin eating the plant's leaves, stems or branches, they also exude specialized growth hormones. These hormones cause rapid growth in the shape of a ball or lump of some sort depending on the species of gall wasp. The larvae sit inside this gall, which grows around them and provides protection and nutrients while they mature over the next few months. Eventually they will nibble their way out of the gall as fully-grown adults and fly away! Although they are technically parasites, they rarely do any harm to the host plant and leave only the empty galls as their calling cards.

Our property is the home to many types of wasp galls and I think this type-Cynips mirabilis---is my favorite, though the other species are very interesting and photogenic too!

If you would like to know more about some of the different types of wasp galls, here's an informative web page for you: Wasp Galls

For more pictures that include images of the various wasps and a lot more information, take a peek at this: In-Depth Article About Gall Wasps of Southern Oregon

Explored on 10/26/20; highest placement #1.

Sami Serola (inactive), Marco F. Delminho, vero, Keith Burton and 42 other people have particularly liked this photo


27 comments - The latest ones
 Nouchetdu38
Nouchetdu38 club
Beautiful and very interesting explanations!!!!!!*****
4 years ago.
 Reyk
Reyk club
Wunderbar gestaltet und sehr harmonisch.
4 years ago.
 Boro
Boro
Excellente ********
4 years ago.
 cammino
cammino club
Perfect close-up. Bravo!
4 years ago.
 uwschu
uwschu club
sehr schöner Herbstgruß, gefällt mir
4 years ago.
 Malik Raoulda
Malik Raoulda club
Fabuleuse et excellemment rendue comme a l’accoutumée.
Bonne et heureuse semaine.
4 years ago.
 Citoyen du Monde
Citoyen du Monde
superbe rendu !!
4 years ago.
 niraK68
niraK68 club
ein grandioses Makro. Ich dachte in der Vorschau eher an einen Kürbis, nicht an sowas kleines
4 years ago.
 Zulma
Zulma
Qué linda te quedó. Más aún porque la tomaste justo el día de mi cumpleaños, muy especial, así que me la llevo de regalo. Feliz finde!!
4 years ago.
 Roger (Grisly)
Roger (Grisly) club
Superb close up Janet
4 years ago.
 Peter Castell
Peter Castell club
A colourful one Janet we call them Oak Apples
4 years ago.
 Ronald Losure
Ronald Losure club
A particularly colorful gall. Best wishes to you, Janet.
4 years ago.
 Jenny McIntyre
Jenny McIntyre club
Wow - I've never seen a wasp gall before, so I'm very grateful to you for showing it to me. I do have an oak tree in my garden, and would have plenty more, if I didn't keep pulling up the small shoots - otherwise my driveway would become impassable. Lovely to see you here again.
4 years ago.
 Kawasirius
Kawasirius club
Belle composition sur cette curiosité de la nature ! Une formidable documentation sur ces guêpes !
Merci pour vos visites toujours très appréciées, Janet, passez une très bonne semaine !
4 years ago.
 Annemarie
Annemarie club
beautiful close up Janet

Happy safe week my friend:)
4 years ago.
 Marie-claire Gallet
Marie-claire Gallet
So very beautiful, Janet !! Wish you a nice and healhty new week !!!
4 years ago.
 * ઇઉ *
* ઇઉ * club
A fantastic series, Janet!
4 years ago.
 neira-Dan
neira-Dan club
superbe close up !!
4 years ago.
 tiabunna
tiabunna club
A lovely colourful macro, Janet, with interesting background information. As far as I know (and I'm no expert) none of our wasps produce anything like this. Many thanks for your kind comments on my Laos traffic image, I'm sure you'd find a visit there as fascinating as I did.
4 years ago.
 Ulrich John
Ulrich John club
A very beautiful macro, Janet !
4 years ago.
 Soeradjoen (limited time)
Soeradjoen (limited…
Beautiful macro and thanks for the explanation Janet.
Have a nice week.
4 years ago.
 Boarischa Krautmo
Boarischa Krautmo club
beautiful macro.
4 years ago.
 Horizon 36
Horizon 36 club
Awesome, well done Janet.
4 years ago.
 Trudy Tuinstra
Trudy Tuinstra club
fantastic
4 years ago.
 Ed Synchro
Ed Synchro club
Fabulous photo and thank you for the really interesting info.
4 years ago.
 Eva Lewitus
Eva Lewitus club
The first time I hear (read) about galls, wasp galls. How very intereting. And of course a great photo. Thank you!!!
4 years ago.
 Keith Burton
Keith Burton club
A great find and beautifully captured Janet!
4 years ago.

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