Katherine brought this strange looking leaf today, wondering what it is. How serendipitous. Only yesterday I did a fair amount of research on galls - specifically oak galls. Most oak galls are created by tiny parasitic wasps that lay their egg in the leaf or acorn of the oak tree. The larvae secretes chemicals that cause the oak to create the gall. There are as many types of galls as their are parasitic wasps. In North America, there are over 800 species which parasitize not just oaks but many other plant species. The gall serves as a shelter for the larvae before it changes into the adult wasp. It also serves as food. But, as you will see in the video, sometimes it is also a prison.
MaggieThis is a blog for my science students at Eagle School of Madison Archives
October 2017
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