''Biorhiza'' is a genus of
gall wasp
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 generall ...
s in the family Cynipidae in the tribe Cynipini: the oak gall wasp tribe. Cynipini is the tribe partially responsible for the formation of
gall
Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...
s 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.
Species
The genus includes the following species:
* ''
Biorhiza mellea''
Ashmead, 1887
* ''
Biorhiza pallida
''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 ...
''
(Olivier 1791)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14497560
Hymenoptera genera
Cynipidae