Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Acraspis quercushirta
Species of wasp From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Acraspis quercushirta, the jewel oak gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae, [2][3] tribe Cynipini (oak gall wasps),[4] found in North America.[5][6]
Hosts are white oaks, including bur oak, Gambel oak, Chapman oak, swamp chestnut oak, and chestnut oak.[1]
Remove ads
Ecology and Life History
Like most oak gall wasps, this species has two generations per year - one asexual (or agamic) and one sexual, with each generation producing distinct galls.[1] The wingless females of the asexual generation emerge from their galls in fall and climb up an oak tree to oviposit in bud scales thereby inducing the gall development.[1][7] These inconspicuous galls and their larval inhabitants overwinter and continue their development in spring before adults emerge in late May and early June.[1] These sexual generation adults mate and the females oviposit on veins on the underside of host leaves.[2][8] The induced gall is detachable, oval in shape, and the color can range from white to yellowish to tan or brown. The surface is fissured into facets that end in a short, hard point, reminiscent of jewelry.[9] These galls typically fall with the leaves in autumn with the asexual female adults emerging shortly thereafter.
Remove ads
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads