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Photo#237294
California Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus)? - Andricus quercuscalifornicus

California Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus)? - Andricus quercuscalifornicus
Mt. Hamilton, CA, Santa Clara County, California, USA
October 31, 2008
Size: 4mm
I'm pretty sure this is a California Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus) but am looking for confirmation. My ID is based on the gall. After years of seeing these galls, I found one that was "fresh" and still intact -- no exit holes. I took it home and put it in a jar for a few days. Magic! This picture shows the exit hole along with the little wasp that emerged. I'm uploading a separate picture of the gall, too, since you can't see much here.

Images of this individual: tag all
California Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus)? - Andricus quercuscalifornicus California Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus)? - Andricus quercuscalifornicus California Gall Wasp (Andricus quercuscalifornicus)? - Andricus quercuscalifornicus

These are very cool images...
It's really neat to be able to see the relative size of the wasp to its host gall. I hope you let it fly free after it finished its photo session. (Wish I could help out with the ID...)

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