''Callirhytis apicalis'', formerly ''Andricus apicalis'', the trunk 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
hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic.
Females typi ...
n that induces
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 on the trunks or roots of
black oak group
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 known species, plus about 180 hybrids between them. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two ...
trees in California in North America.
Newly formed galls are red or yellow, turning brown as they age.
This wasp is most often associated with ''
Quercus agrifolia
''Quercus agrifolia'', the California live oak, or coast live oak, is an evergreen live oak native to the California Floristic Province. Live oaks are so-called because they keep living leaves on the tree all year, adding young leaves and sheddi ...
'' (coast live oak).
This wasp is generally considered uncommon.
References
External links
*
Cynipidae
Gall-inducing insects
Insects of the United States
Oak galls
Western North American coastal fauna
Insects described in 1896
Taxa named by William Harris Ashmead
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