Disholcaspis quercusmamma
Winged adult
Bullet gall
Scientific classification Edit this classification
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[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]

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]

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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