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California Gall Wasp

Andricus quercuscalifornicus

Photo by HemaShah
Published on Project Noah
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37.9063, -122.065

Field Notes

Habitat:

Local Creek

Notes:

I saw this growth in a tree .It was at the base of the trunk,solitary and softer and,bigger than the galls which I have seen. Not round in shape. seemed like a giant marshmallow.

Species ID Suggestions

California Gall Wasp

Andricus quercuscalifornicus

Reference Link
orbea
1

Comments (18)
HemaShah
Thnx for a second vote on this. Then GALL it is!!
Ashish
Gall or small insect Pupa had various shape and grown on various points on many plants.. They give unexpected or surprising look.
HemaShah
@shebebusynow,on an oak tree!! http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/7116885
HemaShah
Thanks to all lfor your valuable feedback.:)
HemaShah
That is a good idea. though it is a little too late for that! My first reaction was that it is a gall.
shebebusynow
Did you break it open? That might help the identification.
HemaShah
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/6406372 this is my spotting on galls. The biggest difference that i found was that the spotting being discussed was very soft and not spherical .
HemaShah
L. pyriforme is a ubiquitous puffball that grows on dead wood. When rain hits the fruiting structures, spores are released in a cloud. L. pyriforme start to dry and turn brown.
HemaShah
Most galls are caused by insects, although a few are created by diseases in a plant, such as a fungus or viral disease.
HemaShah
I changed it to unknown spotting .
Behn
Or from Cynips maculipennis?
KarenSaxton
Looks like an oak gall. Puffballs grow on the ground
Behn
Possibly from the jumping gall wasp, Neuroterus saltatorius?
shebebusynow
I have a really hard time believing it to be a Lycoperdon. They tend to have bumps and, in my experience, come directly from the ground. See http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/nov2001.html
HemaShah
This was directly on the trunk.
ceherzog
Is it growing directly on the trunk or is it on the small branch that appears behind it?
HemaShah
@shebebusynow, Ceherzog might know.
shebebusynow
It doesn't look like a familiar gall, but I'm still thinking it is a gall. Turns out they're caused by a number of different species of midges (yup, those little no-see-ums) on different species of trees, so it makes sense that there would be different kinds. Is there a gall expert out there?
Photographed
PublishedJuly 22, 2011

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