Oak leaf galls

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Beatsy
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Oak leaf galls

Post by Beatsy »

Spangled and silk-button galls on an oak leaf. Created by two different species of Cynipids (gall wasps). I think. First is a 200-image stack using a 5x Mitty. Second is a single shot with MP-E 65mm at 1x. Last is a snap taken 'in the field' with a 35mm lens on a Sony A9.

Image

Image

Image

Saul
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Post by Saul »

Very nice/interesting. Never saw this thing
Saul
μ-stuff

GrayPlayer
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Post by GrayPlayer »

Cherrios!!! Great images!
Fred H.

Smokedaddy
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Post by Smokedaddy »

... it's interesting the things we never realize that are around us.

Macrero
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Post by Macrero »

Interesting subject and nice pics.

Best,

- Macrero
https://500px.com/macrero - Amateurs worry about equipment, Pros worry about money, Masters worry about Light

JohnKoerner
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Post by JohnKoerner »

Macrero wrote:Interesting subject and nice pics.

Best,

- Macrero
+1

Very nice, at multiple magnification levels.

Lou Jost
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Post by Lou Jost »

Really beautiful, and the galls are much more symmetric and perfect than I would have thought.

mawyatt
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Post by mawyatt »

Think Ive seen these before but had no idea what they were. All are beautiful images. Thanks for showing.

Best,

Mike

Olympusman
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Galls

Post by Olympusman »

What a lot of gall!
Nice series. It is amazing how an insect can affect the DNA of a plant to produce these galls.
What a planet!

Mike
Michael Reese Much FRMS EMS Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA

Chris S.
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Post by Chris S. »

Capital images, Beatsie! :D

Just read a short, interesting piece on Oak cynipid galls: http://www.ufei.org/ForesTree/files/col ... dGalls.pdf

It's well worth a read for information, though most members here will be unimpressed by the photos.

--Chris S.

Sharks
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Post by Sharks »

Very interesting :)

rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Agreed on all counts!

From http://www.ufei.org/ForesTree/files/col ... dGalls.pdf , here is a snippet that I found particularly interesting:
Many species have alternating generations, each of which may last from several weeks to three or four years. Wasps from the same species but from alternate generations are morphologically distinct and produce different galls. In spring and early summer, tiny adult female wasps emerge from woody galls on twigs or branches. These females then deposit eggs in the midribs on the underside of oak leaves. The eggs hatch, and larvae cause small, oblong, blister-like galls to develop in the leaf veins. Inside the galls, the larvae mature, pupate, and then emerge as male or female adult wasps. These second-generation adults then mate and deposit eggs in young oak twigs. The woody galls from this generation of wasps will not appear on the twigs until the next spring or early summer. It may take from one to three years for the larvae living in the woody twig galls to mature.
"The Insects: Structure and Function", by Reginald Frederick Chapman, page 358, adds the information that the first generation is entirely females, which reproduce parthenogenetically without mating. These wasps, and aphids, are the only two examples that Chapman gives of alternation of generations in insects.

--Rik

Troels
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Post by Troels »

Very nice and interesting
Troels Holm, biologist (retired), environmentalist, amateur photographer.
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