Andricus grossulariae

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Acorn cup gall
Andricus grossulariae asexual from Quercus robur 3.JPG
Fully developed gall on ground
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Cynipidae
Genus: Andricus
Species:
A. grossulariae
Binomial name
Andricus grossulariae
Giraud, 1859

Andricus grossulariae is a gall wasp species inducing agamic acorn cup galls on oak tree acorn cups and sexual phase galls on catkins. [1] Synonyms include Andricus fructuum (Trotter, 1899), Andricus gemellus (Belizin & Maisuradze, 1961), Andricus intermedius (Tavares, 1922), Andricus mayri (Wachtl, 1879) and Cynips panteli (Kieffer, 1897). [2]

Contents

Galls

Acorn cup galls develop as a chemically induced distortion of the growing acorn cups on oak trees, caused by gall wasps which lay eggs within the tissues of the acorn cup.

The sexual phase appears on catkins as rounded structures (6 mm × 3–4 mm) possessing a characteristic point, and when young are covered with fine hairs. [1] The galls, shiny and hard, turn red in colour and then black or dark purple. [1]

The asexual or parthenogenetic phase, about 10 mm across, [1] develops on acorn cups of English oak Q. robur and sessile oak Q. petraea. The galls, formed of flattened projections, often enclose the immature acorn. [1] The galls first appear pink in colour and as they mature they turn red, then green and finally brown during their development. [3] [4] Previously the causer of this stage was known as Andricus mayri (Wachtl). [1]

Although normally distinctive the asexual acorn cup gall can, under some growth conditions, be mistaken for the knopper gall, caused by the gall wasp Andricus quercuscalicis . [4]

A. grossulariae, although usually found on acorns, is also found on buds. [5]

Life cycle

As stated, two forms of galls exist for this species, the asexual phase inducing the acorn cup gall on the cups in late summer and the sexual phase inducing rounded galls on the oak catkins in spring.

Parasitoids and inquilines

One study identified twenty-four parasitoids from galls of A. grossulariae, [6] such as Torymus auratus, Megastigmus dorsalis, Ormyrus pomaceus, Sycophila variegata, Sycophila biguttata, Mesopolobus xanthocerus, and Aulogymnus trilineatus. Ceroptres cerri is an inquiline of A. grossulariae. [7]

Distribution

A. grossulariae has been recorded from the United Kingdom, Spain, Belgium, [8] and Israel. [9] A. grossulariae was first seen in Britain in Berkshire in 2000. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Quercus robur</i> Species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family Fagaceae

Quercus robur, the pedunculate oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. It is a large tree, native to most of Europe and western Asia, and is widely cultivated in other temperate regions. It grows on soils of near neutral acidity in the lowlands and is notable for its value to natural ecosystems, supporting a very wide diversity of herbivorous insects and other pests, predators and pathogens.

<i>Quercus cerris</i> Species of plant

Quercus cerris, the Turkey oak or Austrian oak, is an oak native to south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the type species of Quercus sect. Cerris, a section of the genus characterised by shoot buds surrounded by soft bristles, bristle-tipped leaf lobes, and acorns that usually mature in 18 months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gall wasp</span> Family of wasps

Gall wasps, also traditionally calledgallflies, 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 1,300 species of this generally very small creature are known worldwide, with about 360 species of 36 different genera in Europe and some 800 species in North America.

<i>Andricus quercuscalicis</i> Species of wasp

Andricus quercuscalicis is a gall wasp species inducing knopper galls.

<i>Andricus kollari</i> Species of insect

Andricus kollari, also known as the marble gall wasp, is a parthenogenetic species of wasp which causes the formation of marble galls on oak trees. Synonyms for the species include Cynips kollari, Andricus quercusgemmae, A. minor, A. indigenus and A. circulans.

<i>Andricus foecundatrix</i> Species of wasp

Andricus foecundatrix is a parthenogenetic gall wasp which lays a single egg within a leaf bud, using its ovipositor, to produce a gall known as an oak artichoke gall, oak hop gall, larch-cone gall or hop strobile The gall develops as a chemically induced distortion of leaf axillary or terminal buds on pedunculate oak or sessile oak trees. The larva lives inside a smaller hard casing inside the artichoke and this is released in autumn. The asexual wasp emerges in spring and lays her eggs in the oak catkins. These develop into small oval galls which produce the sexual generation of wasps. A yew artichoke gall caused by the fly Taxomyia taxi also exists, but is unrelated to the oak-borne species. Previous names or synonyms for the species A. fecundator are A. fecundatrix, A. pilosus, A. foecundatrix, A. gemmarum, A. gemmae, A. gemmaequercus, A. gemmaecinaraeformis and A. quercusgemmae.

<i>Andricus lignicola</i> Species of wasp

Cola-nut galls develop as a chemically induced distortion of leaf axillary or terminal buds on pedunculate oak or sessile oak trees, caused by the agamic gall wasp Andricus lignicola which lays single eggs within leaf buds using their ovipositor. A previous name or synonym for the species A. lignicola is A. lignicolus and A. venheurni.

<i>Neuroterus quercusbaccarum</i> Species of wasp

The common spangle gall on the underside of leaves and the currant gall on the male catkins or occasionally the leaves, develop as chemically induced distortions on pedunculate oak, or sessile oak trees, caused by the cynipid wasp Neuroterus quercusbaccarum which has both agamic and bisexual generations.

<i>Neuroterus anthracinus</i> Species of wasp

Neuroterus anthracinus is a widely distributed gall wasp that forms chemically induced leaf galls on oak trees. N. anthracinus has both sexual and agamic generations and in consequence forms two distinct galls, the oyster gall and April-bud gall.

<i>Andricus</i> Genus of wasps

Andricus is a genus of oak gall wasps in the family Cynipidae.

<i>Andricus dentimitratus</i> Species of wasp

Andricus dentimitratus is a gall forming wasp in the genus Andricus. The adults lay their eggs on various species of oak and the developing larvae causes the trees to create a large ornate gall. The oaks parasitised include Quercus frainetto, Q. petraea, Q. pyrenaica, Q. pubescens and Q. robur. The gall is formed out of the cup of the acorn. In cross-section it resembles a mushroom. It is woody, maroon, shiny and sticky. It grows up to 25 mm high and 20 mm wide. What resembles the head of the mushroom is lobed or toothed in various ways. The insect emerges from the narrowing, between the head and base.

<i>Andricus quercuscalifornicus</i> Species of wasp

Andricus quercuscalifornicus, or the California gall wasp, is a small wasp species that induces oak apple galls on white oaks, primarily the valley oak but also other species such as Quercus berberidifolia. The California gall wasp is considered an ecosystem engineer, capable of manipulating the growth of galls for their own development. It is found from Washington, Oregon, and California to northern regions of Mexico. Often multiple wasps in different life stages occupy the same gall. The induced galls help establish complex insect communities, promoting the diversification in niche differentiation. Furthermore, the adaptive value of these galls could be attributed their ecological benefits such as nutrition, provision of microenvironment, and enemy avoidance.

<i>Andricus aries</i> Species of wasp

Andricus aries is a species of gall-forming wasps, in the genus Andricus. The species was named by the French entomologist Joseph-Étienne Giraud, in 1859. It is commonly found in eastern Europe and during the 21st century has spread to western Europe.

<i>Andricus curvator</i> Species of wasp

Andricus curvator is a gall wasp which forms chemically induced leaf galls on oak trees and has both agamic and sexual generations. Agamic and sexual generations usually form two distinct galls on oak trees, but in the case of A. curvator there are six galls; the sexual generation usually on the leaf, occasionally in a twig or catkin, and the agamic generation in a bud. The wasp was first described by Theodor Hartig, a German biologist, in 1840 and is found in most of Europe.

<i>Andricus corruptrix</i> Species of wasp

Andricus corruptrix is a species of gall-forming wasp, in the genus Andricus. It is found in Europe.

<i>Andricus inflator</i> Species of wasp

Andricus inflator is a species of gall-forming wasps, in the genus Andricus, which has a sexual and an asexual generation, producing two different galls. The wasp was named by the German biologist Theodor Hartig, in 1840 and is found in Europe.

Andricus infectorius is a species of gall-forming wasp. The species was named by the German biologist Theodor Hartig, in 1843 and is found in Europe.

<i>Andricus quercuspetiolicola</i> Species of wasp

Andricus quercuspetiolicola, also called the oak petiole gall wasp, is a species of oak gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Galls in which the larvae live and feed are formed along the midrib or petiole of white oak leaves.

<i>Disholcaspis quercusmamma</i> Species of wasp

Disholcaspis quercusmamma, the oak rough bulletgall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. The quercus in its name is the genus name for oak, while "mamma" is Latin for "breast", presumably a reference to the "nipple" on the gall.

Andricus hispanicus is a parthenogenetic species of wasp which causes the formation of marble galls on oak trees. The galls caused by the agamous generation are similar to the closely related Andricus kollari.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Margaret Redfern; Peter Shirley (2002). British Plant Galls. Identification of galls on plants & fungi. Shrewsbury: Field Studies Council. pp. 415–419. ISBN   1-85153-214-5.
  2. ↑ "Andricus grossulariae Giraud 1859". Fauna Europaea . Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Galls on English or Pedunculate Oak Quercus robur, Turkey oak Q. cerris and Holm oak Q. ilex". Plant Galls. Hainault Forest. Archived from the original on 3 September 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Acorn cup gall Andricus grossulariae". A Nature Observer′s Scrapbook. Archived from the original on 23 September 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.
  5. ↑ "British Plant Galls". British Plant Gall Society. 2004. Archived from the original (MS Word) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  6. ↑ G. Melika; G. Csóka; G. N. Stone; K. Schönrogge (2002). "Parasitoides reared from galls of Andricus aestivalis Giraud, A. grossulariae Giraud, A. multiplicatus Giraud, and A. vindobonensis Muellner in Hungary". Folia Entomologica Hungarica (Abstract). 63: 105–112.
  7. ↑ Guillem Chust; Lucas Garbin; Juli Pujade-Villar (2007). "Gall wasps and their parasitoids in cork oak fragmented forests" (PDF). Ecological Entomology . 32 (1): 82–91. Bibcode:2007EcoEn..32...82C. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2006.00850.x. S2CID   84475803.[ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Andricus grossulariae Giraud, 1859". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  9. ↑ Jonathan Donohaye. "Family Cynipidae". Check-list of Israeli Insects. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
  10. ↑ John Meiklejohn (April 2009). "New Oak Galls in Worcestershire". Worcestershire Record. 26: 14–15. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
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