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healthy and is growing This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------060803050107000101080402 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks Christopher! I followed your link and read up on the apple gall wasp...apparently it's nothing to worry about, and I need not do anything at all as it won't harm the tree and it won't harm people. I'm wondering tho, if I destroy the galls when the first start appearing, will I eventually break the cycle? Another interesting note...there is a young oak tree at my cottage in Upper Economy...my father planted both these trees...the one at the cottage first, and mine a couple of years later. I checked the cottage one...there are no galls on it this year at all, although I know they have been there previous years...I wonder why that is? Maria Christopher Majka wrote: > Hi Maria, > > There are a variety of such "growths" found on oak trees, which are > collectively called "oak apple galls." They are actually complex > micro-ecosystems generated by so-called "gall-inducer wasps", cynipid > wasps in the genera /Amphibolips/ and /Andricus/. The adults inject a > substance into the oak tree which causes it to form the gall, and the > eggs of the wasp are laid at the site so that the larvae can feed on > the plant tissue (and shelter inside the gall). They are joined in > these galls by other "inquiline" cynipids and lepidoptera larvae > (which live in the gall but do not generate it), parasitic cynipids > and flies, various predators that feed on all of the above (and each > other), and endophytic fungi which grow inside the gall. > For more information take a look at: > > http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/oak_apple_gall_wasp.htm > > We recently described a new species of rove beetle, /Euvira //micmac/, > from oak apple galls in Nova Scotia, and found two other species of > beetles, the mycetophagid /Litargus tetraspilotus /LeConte, and the > latridid, /Melanophthalma americana/ (Mannerheim), in these galls. The > paper is: > > Klimaszewski, J., and Majka, C.G. 2007. /Euvira micmac/, a new species > (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), and first record of the > genus in Canada. The Canadian Entomologist, 139(2): 147-153. > > And those interested in such phenomena can access a copy of the paper at: > > http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/Euvira_micmac.pdf > > Best wishes! > > Chris > > On 16-Jul-09, at 6:21 PM, Phil & Maria wrote: > >> I have an oak tree that is probably about 12 years old. Every year >> these curious "balls" form on some of the leaves...they deform the >> leaf. These "balls" seem to be filled with air and have small white >> bumps on them. As time goes on, they develop one single "bored" >> hole. If you crack open the ball, inside is a tiny brown ball >> covered in pale green soft, fuzzy spikes, and a single hole "bored" >> in it in the exact same place as the hole bored on the outer shell. >> These "balls" don't seem to affect the tree in any way, it appears >> healthy and is growing (slowly, but growing!). Eventually, these >> balls deteriorate and remind you of a tiny wasp nest...all that is >> left on the tree is the top 1/4 of the ball. >> Below are links to two pictures I took today. Does anyone have any >> idea what this is? I'm guessing it is some type of insect or worm, >> but in all the ones I cracked open there were no signs of movement. >> >> >> http://thumb5.webshots.net/t/96/96/1/43/7/2259143070101775065TOAfkX_th.jpg >> >> http://thumb5.webshots.net/t/96/96/6/52/23/2592652230101775065HFuOGE_th.jpg >> >> Maria Forman >> Debert NS > > > > Christopher Majka <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca > <mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca>> | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada > > * Research Associate: Nova Scotia Museum > | http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/research-asfr.htm > * Review Editor: The Coleopterists Bulletin | http://www.coleopsoc.org/ > * Subject Editor: ZooKeys > | http://pensoftonline.net/zookeys/index.php/journal/index > * Associate Editor: Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society > | http://www.acadianes.org/journal.html > * Editor: Atlantic Canada Coleoptera > | http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/atlantic_coleoptera.html > > /"Whenever I hear of the capture of rare beetles, I feel like an old > war-horse at the sound of a trumpet."/ - Charles Darwin > --------------060803050107000101080402 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <title></title> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> Thanks Christopher!<br> I followed your link and read up on the apple gall wasp...apparently it's nothing to worry about, and I need not do anything at all as it won't harm the tree and it won't harm people. <br> I'm wondering tho, if I destroy the galls when the first start appearing, will I eventually break the cycle?<br> Another interesting note...there is a young oak tree at my cottage in Upper Economy...my father planted both these trees...the one at the cottage first, and mine a couple of years later. I checked the cottage one...there are no galls on it this year at all, although I know they have been there previous years...I wonder why that is?<br> Maria<br> <br> Christopher Majka wrote: <blockquote cite="mid:02497369-F436-4D17-A18F-90B66D61D580@ns.sympatico.ca" type="cite">Hi Maria, <div><br> </div> <div>There are a variety of such "growths" found on oak trees, which are collectively called "oak apple galls." They are actually complex micro-ecosystems generated by so-called "gall-inducer wasps", cynipid wasps in the genera <i>Amphibolips</i> and <i>Andricus</i>. The adults inject a substance into the oak tree which causes it to form the gall, and the eggs of the wasp are laid at the site so that the larvae can feed on the plant tissue (and shelter inside the gall). They are joined in these galls by other "inquiline" cynipids and lepidoptera larvae (which live in the gall but do not generate it), parasitic cynipids and flies, various predators that feed on all of the above (and each other), and endophytic fungi which grow inside the gall. For more information take a look at:</div> <div><br> </div>