Disholcaspis quercusmamma

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Disholcaspis quercusmamma
Disholcaspis quercusmamma winged adult.jpg
Winged adult
Disholcaspis quercusmamma gall.jpg
Bullet gall
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Cynipidae
Genus: Disholcaspis
Species:
D. quercusmamma
Binomial name
Disholcaspis quercusmamma
(Walsh and Riley, 1869)

Disholcaspis quercusmamma, the oak rough bulletgall wasp, is a species [1] of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. [2] 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. [3]

Contents

The galls formed by several species in the Disholcaspis genus are called "bullet galls" due to their shape and size. Disholcaspis quercusmamma galls are similar in appearance to those formed by Disholcaspis quercusglobulus ; the distinguishing characters are a velvety surface and pointed apex ("nipple"). [4]

The host plants are white oaks, including bur oak, swamp white oak, [5] and overcup oak. [2] : 295 

Life cycle

As in all Hymenoptera, sex-determination in Disholcaspis quercusmamma is governed by haplodiploidy: males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid, and females develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid. [6]

The life cycle of Disholcaspis quercusmamma alternates between an asexual (agamic) generation and a sexual generation, producing two different types of galls at different seasons of the year. [7]

Asexual generation

The conspicuous bullet galls seen in summer and fall contain only female larvae. When mature, female adults emerge in late fall and reproduce parthenogenetically. [8]

The females are self-fertile and lay a single egg in a dormant leaf bud. These eggs along with the resulting wasp larvae stimulate the tree to produce small, inconspicuous leaf galls in the spring. [9]

Sexual generation

Both male and female wasps develop inside the spring leaf galls and adults emerge in mid-to-late spring. [10]

The mated females fly or crawl to newly elongated twigs where they insert their eggs through the phloem to be in contact with the cambium, where undifferentiated (meristematic) cells are stimulated to grow the fall bullet galls. [9]

Ecology

The larva within the gall can be parasitized by parasitoid wasps, including Sycophila dubia (Eurytomidae), [11] Torymus denticulatus (Torymidae), Mesopolobus sp. and Pteromalus sp. (Pteromalidae). [7] : 294 

The bullet gall can induce the host tree to exude a honeydew-like sweet material that fosters growth of sooty molds. [5] This extrafloral nectar attracts stinging insects such as bald-faced hornets and yellowjackets as well as biting insects such as carpenter ants, perhaps offering protection of the developing female wasp larva in the gall. [9]

Related Research Articles

Gall wasp Superfamily of wasps

Gall wasps, also incorrectly 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 1,300 species of this generally very small creature (1–8 mm) are known worldwide, with about 360 species of 36 different genera in Europe and some 800 species in North America.

Oak apple Gall found on oak trees

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

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<i>Diplolepis rosae</i> Species of wasp that causes Robins pincushion galls on rose

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<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>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.

<i>Biorhiza pallida</i> Species of wasp

Biorhiza pallida is a gall wasp species in the family Cynipidae. This species is a member of the tribe Cynipini: the oak gall wasp tribe. Cynipini is the tribe partially responsible for the formation of galls known as oak apples on oak trees. These are formed after the wasp lays eggs inside the leaf buds and the plant tissues swell as the larvae of the gall wasp develop inside. This wasp has a widespread distribution within Europe.

Cynipini 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. Cynipini wasps can act as ecosystem engineers. Their galls can become hosts of inquilines, and the wasps themselves are hosts to parasitoids.

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

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<i>Euderus set</i> Species of wasp

Euderus set, the crypt-keeper wasp, is a tiny chalcid wasp from the family Eulophidae from the United States, described in 2017 as a parasitoid of the gall wasp Bassettia pallida, and the description of its life cycle attracted widespread publicity.

Ormocerus dirigoius is a species of stingless wasp. It is native to Maine, United States. It is likely a parasitoid of an oak gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. This species was found in bi-catch of samples collected for another research project.

<i>Belonocnema</i> Genus of wasps

Belonocnema is a genus of oak gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. There are three described species: B. treatae, B. fossoria and B. kinseyi. These species are found in the United States from Texas, east to Florida.

<i>Disholcaspis</i> Genus of gall wasps

Disholcaspis is a genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. There are more than 40 species described in the genus Disholcaspis.

Lathrolestes luteolator is a species of wasp in the family Ichneumonidae. it is native to North America and is a parasitoid of various species of sawfly larvae. In the 1990s, it started to parasitise the larvae of the invasive amber-marked birch leaf miner in Alberta. When this pest spread to Alaska, the wasp was used in biological pest control.

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.

<i>Andricus dimorphus</i> Species of oak gall wasp

Andricus dimorphus, also called the clustered midrib gall wasp, is a species of oak gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. Galls in which the larvae live and feed are formed in clusters along the midrib on the underside of oak leaves.

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.

<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>Andricus quercusstrobilanus</i> Species of wasp

Andricus quercusstrobilanus, the lobed oak gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae, found in North America. The quercus in its specific name is the genus name for oak, while "strobilus" is derived from the Greek strobilo which means "cone", a reference to the cone shape of the gall; thus the gall is sometimes called pine cone oak gall.

<i>Acraspis quercushirta</i> Species of wasp

Acraspis quercushirta, the jewel oak gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae, tribe Cynipini , found in North America.

References

  1. ↑ "Disholcaspis quercusmamma (Oak Rough Bulletgall Wasp)". iNaturalist. California Academy of Sciences.
  2. 1 2 McEwen, Crystal; Digweed, Scott; Nicholls, James A.; Cranshaw, Whitney (1 July 2014). "Description and Biology of the Sexual Generation of Disholcaspis quercusmamma (Walsh and Riley) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), with Notes on Associated Parasitoids". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 116 (3): 294–310. doi:10.4289/0013-8797.116.3.294. S2CID   85987251.
  3. ↑ "Species Disholcaspis quercusmamma - Oak Rough Bulletgall Wasp". Bugguide. Iowa State University.
  4. ↑ Gillette, CP (1888). "A study OF THE CYNIPIDAE". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. Cambridge Entomological Club. 5: 215.
  5. 1 2 Cranshaw, Whitney (22 February 2010). "Rough Bulletgall Wasp". Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, University of Georgia.
  6. ↑ King, R.C.; Stansfield, W.D.; Mulligan, P.K. (2006). A dictionary of genetics (7th ed.). Oxford University Press. p.  194. ISBN   978-0-19-530761-0.
  7. 1 2 Cooke-McEwen, Crystal; Digweed, Scott; Nicholls, James A; Cranshaw, Whitney (July 2014). "Description and Biology of the Sexual Generation of Disholcaspis quercusmamma (Walsh and Riley) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), with Notes on Associated Parasitoids". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 116 (3): 294–310. doi:10.4289/0013-8797.116.3.294. S2CID   85987251.
  8. ↑ "Disholcaspis quercusmamma (agamic)". Gallformers.
  9. 1 2 3 Boggs, Joe (October 6, 2018). "Bullet Galls and Their Guards". Ohio State University.
  10. ↑ "Disholcaspis quercusmamma (sexgen)". Gallformers.
  11. ↑ Eckberg, Thomas B.; Cranshaw, Whitney S. (1994). "Occurrence of the Oak Rough Bulletgall Wasp, Disholcaspis Quercusmamma (Walsh) (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), as a Street Tree Pest in Colorado". Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 67 (3): 290–293. JSTOR   25085527.
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