''Disholcaspis quercusmamma'', the oak rough bulletgall wasp, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
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 ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Cynipidae
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 genera ...
.
The ''
quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
'' in its name is the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
name for
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, while "mamma" is
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "breast", presumably a reference to the "nipple" on the
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 ...
.
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").
The host plants are
white oaks
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...
, including
bur oak
''Quercus macrocarpa'', the bur oak or burr oak, is a species of oak tree native to eastern North America. It is in the white oak section, ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'', and is also called mossycup oak, mossycup white oak, blue oak, or scrub oa ...
,
swamp white oak
''Quercus bicolor'', the swamp white oak, is a North American species of medium-sized trees in the beech family. It is a common element of America's north central and northeastern mixed forests. It can survive in a variety of habitats. It forms ...
,
and
overcup oak
''Quercus lyrata'', the overcup oak, is an oak in the white oak group (''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus''). The common name, overcup oak, refers to its acorns that are mostly enclosed within the acorn cup. It is native to lowland wetlands in the east ...
.
Life cycle
As in all
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is a large order (biology), order of insects, comprising the sawfly, sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are Par ...
,
sex-determination in ''Disholcaspis quercusmamma'' is governed by
haplodiploidy
Haplodiploidy is a sex-determination system in which males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid, and females develop from fertilized eggs and are diploid. Haplodiploidy is sometimes called arrhenotoky.
Haplodiploidy determines the sex ...
: males develop from unfertilized eggs and are
haploid
Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
, and females develop from fertilized eggs and are
diploid
Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
.
The life cycle of ''Disholcaspis quercusmamma'' alternates between an
asexual (
agamic) generation and a
sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
generation, producing two different types of galls at different seasons of the year.
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
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek grc, παρθένος, translit=parthénos, lit=virgin, label=none + grc, γένεσις, translit=génesis, lit=creation, label=none) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development ...
.
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.
Sexual generation
Both male and female wasps develop inside the spring leaf galls and adults emerge in mid-to-late spring.
The mated females fly or crawl to newly elongated twigs where they insert their eggs through the
phloem
Phloem (, ) is the living biological tissue, tissue in vascular plants that transports the soluble organic compounds made during photosynthesis and known as ''photosynthates'', in particular the sugar sucrose, to the rest of the plant. This tran ...
to be in contact with the
cambium
A cambium (plural cambia or cambiums), in plants, is a tissue layer that provides partially undifferentiated cells for plant growth. It is found in the area between xylem and phloem. A cambium can also be defined as a cellular plant tissue from w ...
, where undifferentiated (
meristematic
The meristem is a type of tissue found in plants. It consists of undifferentiated cells (meristematic cells) capable of cell division. Cells in the meristem can develop into all the other tissues and organs that occur in plants. These cells conti ...
) cells are stimulated to grow the fall bullet galls.
Ecology
The larva within the gall can be parasitized by
parasitoid
In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...
wasps, including ''
Sycophila dubia'' (
Eurytomidae
The Eurytomidae are a family within the superfamily Chalcidoidea.
Unlike most chalcidoids, the larvae of many are phytophagous (feeding in stems, seeds, or galls), while others are more typical parasitoids, though even then the hosts are usually ...
),
''
Torymus denticulatus'' (
Torymidae
Torymidae is a family of wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. Most species in this family are small with attractive metallic coloration, and females generally have long ovipositors. Many are parasitoids on gall-forming insects, and some are phy ...
), ''
Mesopolobus'' sp. and ''
Pteromalus
''Pteromalus'' is a genus of pteromalids in the family Pteromalidae
The Pteromalidae are a very large family of mostly parasitoid wasps, with some 3,450 described species in about 640 genera (the number was greater, but many species and gener ...
'' sp. (
Pteromalidae
The Pteromalidae are a very large family of mostly parasitoid wasps, with some 3,450 described species in about 640 genera (the number was greater, but many species and genera have been reduced by synonymy in recent years). The subfamily-level d ...
).
The bullet gall can induce the host tree to exude a
honeydew-like sweet material that fosters growth of
sooty mold
Sooty mold (also spelled sooty mould) is a collective term for different Ascomycete fungi, which includes many genera, commonly ''Cladosporium'' and ''Alternaria''. It grows on plants and their fruit, but also environmental objects, like fences, ...
.
This extrafloral
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
attracts stinging insects such as
bald-faced hornets and
yellowjackets
A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp.
Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town
* Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida
Arts, e ...
as well as biting insects such as
carpenter ants
Carpenter ants (''Camponotus'' spp.) are large () ants Indigenous (ecology), indigenous to many forested parts of the world.
They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles or jaws, preferably in dead, dam ...
,
perhaps offering protection of the developing female wasp larva in the gall.
bald-faced hornet
''Dolichovespula maculata'' is a species of wasp in the genus ''Dolichovespula'' and a member of the Eusociality, eusocial, cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family Vespidae. It is known by many colloquial names, primarily bald-faced horn ...
sips nectar from a gall
References
External links
{{Taxonbar, from=Q108370262
Cynipidae
Gall-inducing insects
Insects described in 1869
Hymenoptera of North America
Oak galls