Odd looking pods about the size of golf balls found here and there on the ground. Never seen them before. Looked them up in tree books. No luck. Opened (pictured at right), these light hollow spheres contained marvelous white dry fluff, but no seeds. Turns out this was a home of the parasitic Oak Apple Gall Wasp,
Biorhiza pallida. And a fine comfily upholstered home it is. The wasp who dwelt in its center was long gone, to lay her eggs at the base of the oak tree and further parasitize it. These "pods," or more precisely "galls," may grow on either oak twigs or leaves. So if you see these they aren't spring fruits. Photos taken 11 May.
Odd looking pods about the size of golf balls found here and there on the ground. Never seen them before. Looked them up in tree books. No luck. Opened (pictured at right), these light hollow spheres contained marvelous white dry fluff, but no seeds. Turns out this was a home of the parasitic Oak Apple Gall Wasp, Biorhiza pallida. And a fine comfily upholstered home it is. The wasp who dwelt in its center was long gone, to lay her eggs at the base of the oak tree and further parasitize it. These "pods," or more precisely "galls," may grow on either oak twigs or leaves. So if you see these they aren't spring fruits. Photos taken 11 May.
No comments:
Post a Comment