| Phylloteras cupella | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Santa Clara County, California, 2021 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Cynipidae |
| Subfamily: | Cynipinae |
| Tribe: | Cynipini |
| Genus: | Phylloteras |
| Species: | P. cupella |
| Binomial name | |
| Phylloteras cupella (Weld, 1926) | |
| Synonyms | |
Trigonaspis cupella | |
Phylloteras cupella, formerly Trigonaspis cupella, also known as the urn gall wasp or the banded urn gall wasp, is a species of cynipid wasp that induces leaf galls on a number of oak species in western North America. [1] [2] Host species include Arizona white, blue, Engelmann, gray, leather, netleaf, scrub, and shrub oaks. [1] In the United States, galls induced by this species of wasp have been documented in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. [2] This wasp is most likely also in Mexico and Canada. [3]
The galls usually have an ombré gradient: lighter at the top, and darker toward the bottom. [1] New galls may be yellow, red, or mauve, while aging galls display a distinctly purple tint, and old galls ultimately turn brown. [1]
The wasp measures 1.3–2 millimeters in length. [4]
