Disholcaspis quercusmamma

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Disholcaspis quercusmamma
Disholcaspis quercusmamma winged adult.jpg
Winged adult
Disholcaspis quercusmamma gall.jpg
Bullet gall
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
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 of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. [1] 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. [2]

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"). [3]

The host plants are white oaks, including bur oak, swamp white oak, and overcup oak. [1] :295 [4]

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. [5]

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. [6]

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. [7]

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. [8]

Sexual generation

Both male and female wasps develop inside the spring leaf galls and adults emerge in mid-to-late spring. [9]

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. [8]

Ecology

The larva within the gall can be parasitized by parasitoid wasps, including Sycophila dubia (Eurytomidae), [10] Torymus denticulatus (Torymidae), Mesopolobus sp. and Pteromalus sp. (Pteromalidae). [6] :294

The bullet gall can induce the host tree to exude a honeydew-like sweet material that fosters growth of sooty mold. [4] 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. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Diplolepis</i> (wasp) Genus of wasps

Diplolepis is a genus of approximately fifty species of gall-inducing wasps in the family Diplolepididae. The larvae induce galls on wild roses (Rosa), and rarely on domestic roses.

<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

An oak apple or oak gall is 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 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>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>Cynips quercusfolii</i> Gall wasp species in the genus Cynips

Cynips quercusfolii, also known as the cherry gall wasp, is a gall wasp species in the genus Cynips and family Cynipidae. The species is important for the production of commercial nutgall formed on Quercus lusitanica . Galls are located on the underside of leaves, with the majority of galls being on the second and third veins from the petiole of the leaf.

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

Biorhiza pallida, also known as the oak apple gall wasp, 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.

<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>Acraspis</i> Genus of wasps

Acraspis is a genus of gall wasps in the family Cynipidae. The following species are recognised in the genus Acraspis:

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>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. Some Disholcaspis species induce galls that produce honeydew, a sweet liquid that attracts yellow jackets, ants, and bees. These insects then protect the galls from parasitic wasps.

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.

<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>Cynips quercusechinus</i> Species of wasp

Cynips quercusechinus, the urchin gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae. It induces galls in the leaves and leaf buds of blue oak and scrub oak. Like other oak gall wasps, it has two generations: a bisexual generation, and a parthenogenic female generation. In spring, the hatching bisexual generation produces hollow green galls in leaf buds. In summer, the unisexual generation induces its galls, which are red or pink and resemble sea urchins, on the undersides of leaves. These galls are about 10 millimetres (0.39 in) in diameter. The galls fall with the leaves in autumn, and the larvae inside of them emerge as adults in the spring and lay their eggs.

<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.

<i>Druon ignotum</i> Species of wasp

Druon ignotum is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae.

<i>Callirhytis quercusfutilis</i> Species of wasp

Callirhytis quercusfutilis, the oak wart gall wasp, is a species of gall wasp in the family Cynipidae.

<i>Feron bakkeri</i> North American gall-inducing wasp

Feron bakkeri, also known as the pinched leaf gall wasp, is a relatively uncommon species of gall-inducing hymenopteran. They produce pink leaf galls on Oregon oaks and scrub oaks. The distribution of this wasp is California and Oregon in North America. It was previously placed in the genus Andricus.

<i>Besbicus mirabilis</i> North American gall-inducing wasp

Besbicus mirabilis, formerly Cynips mirabilis, also known as the speckled gall wasp, is a common species of cynipid wasp that produces galls on oak trees in North America. This wasp oviposits on the midrib of the underside of Oregon oak leaves. One to three detachable galls per leaf have been observed. The larval chamber is at the center of the gall, connected to the husk by slender, radiating fibers. The second generation of this wasp induces bud galls. The galls may be parasitized by moth larva or eaten by earwigs or other enterprising arthropods before the larva complete their development. This wasp is present on the Pacific coast of North America from British Columbia to northern California.

<i>Heteroecus sanctaeclarae</i> North American gall-inducing wasp

Heteroecus sanctaeclarae, also known as the mushroom gall wasp, is a species of cynipid wasp that induces galls on huckleberry oaks and canyon live oaks on the Pacific coast of North America.

References

  1. 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.
  2. "Species Disholcaspis quercusmamma - Oak Rough Bulletgall Wasp". Bugguide. Iowa State University.
  3. Gillette, CP (1888). "A study OF THE CYNIPIDAE". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 5. Cambridge Entomological Club: 215.
  4. 1 2 Cranshaw, Whitney (22 February 2010). "Rough Bulletgall Wasp". Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, University of Georgia.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. "Disholcaspis quercusmamma (agamic)". Gallformers.
  8. 1 2 3 Boggs, Joe (October 6, 2018). "Bullet Galls and Their Guards". Ohio State University.
  9. "Disholcaspis quercusmamma (sexgen)". Gallformers.
  10. 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.