Around the park you may see spherical growths on the oak trees, those are wasp galls! They are caused by a native wasp species called the California gall wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus). The galls are insect-induced benign growths on the tree that house and feed wasp larvae as they metamorphose. The wasp larvae chew on the oak, secreting chemicals that mimic oak growth hormones causing the tree to grow a gall around the larva. There are several gall wasp species that can create different galls on the same tree. The California wasp galls are the largest of all insect-induced galls. This species of wasp contains mostly females, and they reproduce asexually using parthenogenesis. As adults they only live for around a week. These galls are very important to ecosystems as they serve as food for birds and small mammals as well as homes for other parasitic insects.

For more information visit: 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andricus_quercuscalifornicus 

https://lpfw.org/our-region/wildlife/gall-wasps/ 

Post created by Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah Intern Team