Spined Turban Gall Wasp – Antron douglasii

Spined Turban Gall Wasp (Antron douglasii)

Latin Name: Callirhtis quercuspunctata

Common Name: Gouty Oak Gall, Oak Knot Gall Wasp

Appearance:

• Antron douglasii gall is a more-or-less star-shaped, crimson to purple structure with blunted horns that develops on either leaf surface.
• On the underside of a Scrub Oakleaf, fresh galls of the Spined Turban Gall Wasp (Antron douglasii) of the family Cynipidae of the order Hymenoptera have developed.
• They appear to be little mushrooms sprouting from the oak leaf, but they are tiny wasp “nests.” Squash-shaped, with an irregular, truncated cone connected by its smaller end, flaring distally, and 5 to 11 short, spiny projections from the rim of the gall’s distal end; mature galls light pink, frequently with puberulence that turns them violet in color.

Hosts plants: 

Quercus douglasii, and lobata, berberidifolia

Territory:

Galls of the Western United States and where the host plants are found.

Description about trunk and branch borers:

Various insects can bore into tree trunks and branches as adults or larvae, generating sawdust or sap-filled holes and weakening trees. Only trees that have been stressed by incorrect watering or maintenance, illness, or mechanical harm may be effectively attacked by most borers. Invasive insect borers, on the other hand, damage healthy trees. When a tree is afflicted with borers, there’s usually little you can do but boost the tree’s vitality, cut off affected limbs, or eliminate the tree.

Life history and habitat: 

Antron douglasii (Ashmead) gall is a star-shaped red to purple structure with blunted horns that can be seen on either leaf surface. This cynipid wasp produces monothalamous, detachable, spiky, unisexual generation galls on the underside of the blue, valley, and scrub oaks leaves.