Andricus kollari

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Andricus kollari
Hymenoptera-Cynipidae-Andricus-kollari-201408230042.JPG
Female Andricus kollari of the asexual generation
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Cynipidae
Genus: Andricus
Species:
A. kollari
Binomial name
Andricus kollari
(Hartig, 1843)

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.

Contents

Description

Adult Andricus kollari are dark brown, and about 1.5–2.0 millimetres (0.059–0.079 in) in length. [1] It has alternating sexual and asexual generations, each often taking two years to complete. Like all gall wasps, it causes the formation of parasitic galls on trees in which it lays its larvae.

In May or June, a sexual female lays her eggs in the developing buds of susceptible oak trees using her ovipositor. Chemicals produced by both the adult and developing wasps cause the formation of a gall. Pedunculate oak ( Quercus robur ), sessile oak ( Q. petraea ) and the hybrid Quercus × rosacea can all be parasitized. [2] The host trees are often immature or retarded specimens; galls are rarer on older, healthier trees. [3] The Turkey oak ( Q. cerris ), introduced into Britain in 1735, is required for the completion of the wasp's life cycle. [4] The oak marble gall is frequently conflated with the oak apple gall, caused by another gall wasp, Biorhiza pallida . Oak marble galls are also known as the bullet gall, oak nut or Devonshire gall. [5]

The developing spherical galls are green at first, brown later, and mature in August. Each gall contains a central chamber, with a single female wasp larva of the asexual generation, which emerges through a 'woodworm-like' hole as an adult winged gall-wasp in September. These asexual (agamic) females lay unfertilized eggs in the embryonic bud leaves of the Turkey oak, with galls slowly developing during winter, and are visible in March and April as small oval structures between the bud scales, looking like ant's eggs or pupae. [6] The emerging adult gall-wasps in spring are the sexual generation, producing both males and females, which fly to the common oaks to initiate the formation of the summer marble gall. [5]

The abnormal buds develop during the summer and the bud is wholly replaced by the growing gall. Marble galls may remain attached to the tree for several years. [7] [8] The level of attack by the insect varies greatly from year to year. [9]

Oak marble galls showing two stunted and two normal-sized examples Oak marble galls.JPG
Oak marble galls showing two stunted and two normal-sized examples

A. hispanicus was previously included in A. kollari, but the two are genetically distinct [10] and require different hosts to complete their life cycle, the sexual generation of A. hispanicus developing on the cork oak (Quercus suber) instead of the Turkey oak (Quercus cerris). [11]

Oak marble gall

The gall growth first appears as a rounded mass of green plant tissue on the leaf buds of the oak, later becoming hard and brown, being up to approximately 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in diameter. Although nearly spherical, the galls often have a number of little flattened nodules. The rounded growths are filled with a spongy mass and a single wasp larva is located in a hard, seed-like cell in the centre. [7] The word 'marble' derives from the gall's shape, which is a marble-like rounded structure. As stated, although normally distinctive the oak marble gall can, under some growth conditions, be mistaken for the oak apple gall, caused by a number of gall wasps, such as Biorhiza pallida. [12] This may be due to the observer's unfamiliarity with the true oak apple gall which grows to be somewhat larger, has red markings, but does also grow on the axillary or terminal buds. [13] [14] The galls sometimes coalesce. The non-parasitised specimens are at the largest end of the size range.

Fused and/or stunted specimens can be confused with A. lignicola (Hartig), the "Cola-nut gall". [15]

Predators, inquilines, parasitoids and fungi

Mature galls are sometimes broken open by vertebrate predators to recover the larva or pupa. Woodpeckers, such as the lesser spotted woodpecker, as well as other birds or squirrels have been suggested. [3] [16] In the territory of former Czechoslovakia, both bank voles and yellow-necked mice feed on larvae and pupae extracted from oak marble galls. [17]

A number of insect inquilines live harmlessly within the oak marble gall. Some of these, as well as Andricus itself, are parasitised by insects referred to as parasitoids. The chalcid wasp Torymus nitens is an example of a parasitoid in oak marble galls. [18] The presence of these inquilines and parasites is often visible on older galls by the presence of fine exit-holes, smaller than that of the gall wasp itself. [3]

A gall can contain the cynipid wasp as the host that made the gall; up to five species of inquilines (Ceroptres clavicornis, Synergus gallaepomiformis, S. pallidipennis, S. reinhardi and S. umbraculus) eating the host's food; as well as up to thirteen parasitoid species (Eurytoma brunniventris, Sycophila biguttata, S. variegata, Megastigmus dorsalis, M. stigmatizans, Torymus geranii, T. auratus, Caenacis lauta, Hobbya stenonota, Mesopolobus amaenus, M. fasciiventris, M. sericeus, Eupelmus urozonus) living on the host, inquilines and each other. [19]

Many old galls bear numerous dark brown excrescences, due to the fungus Phoma gallorum. [3]

Uses of oak marble galls

The galls contain large amounts of tannic acid, which was used for making iron gall ink and for dyeing cloth. [5] [20] According to recent research, traces of iron-gall ink have been found on the Dead Sea scrolls and on the 'lost' Gospel of Judas. Iron-gall ink may have been used for 1,800 years, but it does not withstand the test of time well. Over the course of centuries, the ink fades, and discolours and damages the paper. [21] Other waterproof formulae, better suited for writing on paper, became available in the 20th century. Iron gall ink is manufactured chiefly by artists enthusiastic about reviving old methods or possibly forgers of old documents.[ citation needed ]

British galls have too little tannic acid (about 17%) for the best results; Aleppo galls have three times as much. [3]

Powdered galls mixed with hog's lard and applied to the posterior were said to be good for curing piles. [22]

Oak marble gall extract is used in deodorants because of tannic acid's anti-bacterial properties. [23]

Infestations of oak marble galls

Removing and destroying galls before they dry and the wasps emerge from a hole may help to reduce the infestation. While fairly large, spectacular, and sometimes present in quite large numbers, they cause no measurable harm. The galls were the subject of considerable press controversy in the mid-nineteenth century when it was thought that the acorn crop would be ruined and its rapid spread would deprive farmers of valuable pannage (fodder) for their pigs. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Galls or cecidia 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 warts in animals. They can be caused by various parasites, from viruses, fungi and bacteria, to other plants, insects and mites. Plant galls are often highly organized structures so that the cause of the gall can often be determined without the actual agent being identified. This applies particularly to insect and mite plant galls. The study of plant galls is known as cecidology.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oak apple</span> Gall found on oak trees

Oak apple or oak gall is the common name for a large, round, vaguely apple-like gall commonly found on many species of oak. Oak apples range in size from 2 to 4 centimetres in diameter and are caused by chemicals injected by the larva of certain kinds of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae.

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

Andricus quercuscalicis is a gall wasp species inducing knopper galls.

<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 numismalis</i> Species of wasp

Neuroterus numismalis is a gall wasp that forms chemically induced leaf galls on oak trees. It has both bisexual and agamic (parthenogenetic) generations and forms two distinct galls on oak leaves, the silk button gall and blister gall. The galls can be very numerous with more than a thousand per leaf.

<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 grossulariae</i> Species of wasp

Andricus grossulariae is a gall wasp species inducing agamic acorn cup galls on oak tree acorn cups and sexual phase galls on catkins. Synonyms include Andricus fructuum, Andricus gemellus, Andricus intermedius, Andricus mayri and Cynips panteli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynipini</span> Tribe of wasps

Cynipini is a tribe of gall wasps. These insects induce galls in plants of the beech and oak family, Fagaceae. They are known commonly as the oak gall wasps. It is the largest cynipid tribe, with about 936 to 1000 recognized species, most of which are associated with oaks. The tribe is mainly native to the Holarctic.

<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.

Andricus mukaigawae is a species of gall wasp native to southeastern Asia. It creates galls on the buds and leaves of oak trees. The galls are sometimes used by other gall wasps unable to create galls of their own, with both species sharing the gall.

Synergus japonicus is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Whereas most gall wasps create the galls in which they live, Synergus japonicus is an inquiline species, living in the gall created by another species of wasp. It is native to Japan, China and Russia.

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. ↑ "Oak Marble Gall Wasp | NatureSpot". www.naturespot.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  2. ↑ Redfern M., Shirley P., Bloxham M., British Plant Galls Second Edition, Field Studies Council, Shrewsbury, 2011
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Darlington, Arnold (1968). The Pocket Encyclopaedia of Plant Galls in colour. Pub. Blandford Press. Dorset. ISBN   0-7137-0748-8 P. 154.
  4. ↑ Turkey oak introduction & gall distribution
  5. 1 2 3 Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust website
  6. ↑ The British Oak. Its History and Natural history. Ed. Morris, M.G. & Perring, F.H (1974) . Pub. Bot. Soc. Brit. Isles. P. 309.
  7. 1 2 "Gall Growth details". Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  8. ↑ Oak Marble Gall details
  9. ↑ Royal Horticultural Society website. Archived 2009-07-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑
    Stone, Graham N.; Schönrogge, Karsten; Atkinson, Rachel J.; Bellido, David; Pujade-Villar, Juli (2002). "The Population Biology of Oak Gall Wasps (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)". Annual Review of Entomology. 47 (1): 633–668. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.47.091201.145247. PMID   11729087. S2CID   845122.
    This review cites this research.
    Stone, G.; Atkinson, R.; Rokas, A.; Csóka, G.; Nieves-Aldrey, J.L. (2001). "Differential success in northwards range expansion between ecotypes of the marble gallwasp Andricus kollari: a tale of two lifecycles". Molecular Ecology. 10 (3): 761–778. Bibcode:2001MolEc..10..761S. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01211.x. PMID   11298986. S2CID   7571881.
  11. ↑ Pujade-Villar, J.; Folliot, R.; Bellido, D. (2003). "The life cycle of Andricus hispanicus (Hartig, 1856) n. stat., a sibling species of A. kollari (Hartig, 1843) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae)" (PDF). Butlletí de la Institució Catalana d'Història Natural (71): 83–95. S2CID   86828179.
  12. ↑ "Oak Apple gall". Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  13. ↑ "Gall appearance details". Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  14. ↑ Darlington, Arnold (1968). The Pocket Encyclopaedia of Plant Galls in colour. Pub. Blandford Press. Dorset. ISBN   0-7137-0748-8 P. 151.
  15. ↑ Redfern, Margaret & Shirley, Peter (2002). British Plant Galls. Identification of galls on plants & fungi. AIDGAP. Shrewsbury : Field Studies Council. ISBN   1-85153-214-5. Page 404.
  16. ↑ Marble Gall project. Suffolk Naturalists' Society Archived July 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ The British Oak. Its History and Natural history. Ed. Morris, M.G. & Perring, F.H (1974) . Pub. Bot. Soc. Brit. Isles. P. 316.
  18. ↑ A parasitoid wasp Archived June 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ A Checklist of British Species. Archived 2010-05-02 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ Oak Apple Gall details
  21. ↑ Science in schools Gall ink project
  22. ↑ Brook, Richard. New Cyclopaedia of Botany and Complete Book of Herbs. London : W. M. Clark. p. 497.
  23. ↑ Deodorant. Accessed : 2010-08-15 [ permanent dead link ]
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