''Andricus quercuspetiolicola'', also called the oak petiole gall wasp, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of oak gall wasp in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cynipidae Gall wasps, also wikt:gallfly#Usage notes, traditionally called gallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1 ...

Gall Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to benign tumors or war ...

s in which the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e live and feed are formed along the

midrib A primary vein, also known as the midrib, is the main vascular structure running through the center of a leaf. The primary vein is crucial for the leaf’s efficiency in photosynthesis and overall health, as it ensures the proper flow of material ...

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

white oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

leaves.Weld, L. Hart. (1959). Cynipid galls of the Eastern United States. Ann Arbor, Mich.

Range

This species occurs throughout the eastern half of North America where its host plants grow.

Galls

Gall of Oak Petiole Gall Wasp Andricus quercuspetiolicola on Bur Oak

The oak petiole gall wasp forms galls on

white oaks ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be called ...

, including ''

Quercus alba ''Quercus alba'', the white oak, is one of the preeminent hardwoods of eastern and central North America. It is a long-lived oak, native to eastern and central North America and found from Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec, and southern Maine south as ...

'', '' Q. bicolor'', '' Q. montana'', '' Q. macrocarpa'', '' Q. michauxii'', '' Q. prinoides'', and '' Q. stellata''. The galls of the sexual generation are round or club-shaped and formed on the petiole or midrib of the leaves in spring, with adults of both sexes emerging from galls in late June and early July. The gall is a firm swelling with a scar at the apex and contains several cells, each with a larva. It is initially green but becomes brown and woody as it ages. The galls and timing of the

agamic Religion *Āgama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts *Āgama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects *Jain literature (Jain Āgamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism Other uses * ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...

generation are unknown.

Parasitoids In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

of the oak petiole gall wasp include the crypt-keeper wasp (''Euderus set'').

Taxonomy

The adults were first described by

Homer Franklin Bassett Homer Franklin Bassett (September 2, 1826 – June 28, 1902) was an American hymenoptera, hymenopterist specializing in gall wasps. In addition, he was the librarian of Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury, Connecticut. Early life and education ...

in 1863 with the name ''Cynips quercuspetiolicola'', though the galls had been previously described by

Carl Robert Osten-Sacken Carl Robert Osten-Sacken or Carl-Robert Romanovich, Baron von der Osten-Sacken, Baron Osten Sacken (21 August 1828, – 20 May 1906) was a German-Russian diplomat and entomologist. He served as the Russian consul general in New York City duri ...

. This species is now considered to be in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Andricus ''Andricus'' is a genus of oak gall wasps in the family (biology), family Cynipidae. Life cycle As in all Hymenoptera, sex-determination system, sex-determination in species of the genus ''Andricus'' is governed by haplodiploidy: males develop f ...

'', and several other names are considered

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

References

Cynipidae Gall-inducing insects Oak galls Insects described in 1863 Insects of Canada Hymenoptera of North America Taxa named by Homer Franklin Bassett {{Apocrita-stub