Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

BugGuide is a National Moth Week Partner. How to add your National Moth Week 2021 photos. July 17-25.

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

National Moth Week 2020 photos of insects and people.

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 BugGuide Gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Discussion, insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

Photos of insects and people from the 2014 gathering in Virginia, June 4-7.

Photos of insects and people from the 2013 gathering in Arizona, July 25-28

Previous events


TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#867834
Mug without handle - Paracraspis patelloides

Mug without handle - Paracraspis patelloides
Yosemite Valley, Mariposa County, California, USA
November 13, 2013
Size: Opening: 3.2 mm avg diam
On the same canyon live oak, Quercus chrysolepis, as this early-stage cup gall from last spring:

but in a different part of the tree, definitely not on the same leaf.

Images of this individual: tag all
Mug without handle - Paracraspis patelloides Mug without handle - Paracraspis patelloides Mug without handle - Paracraspis patelloides

Moved

....
So you did find another of these galls, even if it's not exactly the one you saw earlier in the year. This one is quite wrinkled. It looks as if it might have 2 exit holes so perhaps its growth form was altered by a parasitoid or inquiline.

 
Re: ....
Yes, I wondered about the two holes. Even if two species lived in the walls, why would the second one to emerge do the work of boring a new exit? Thanks for the ID.

 
it happens a lot
When there are two insects inside a monothalamous gall, they are not necessarily in the same chamber, especially if one is an inquiline -- just taking advantage of the gall housing but not necessarily killing the gall inducer.

If you cut some galls open you'll see there's generally an egg-like, well-defined chamber where the gall inducer develops, and other space inside the gall around the chamber where other insects can potentially develop.

Because the holes are two different sizes, I would guess that two different species of insect emerged from this gall, and they likely had little contact with each other while in the gall.

Here's an example of an H. pacificus gall that had its shape altered by inquilines:
http://joycegross.com/images.php?img=2222_2337
The larger hole towards the bottom of the gall is in the area where the gall inducing cynipid normally develops. However, the top of the gall where the smaller holes are is abnormally expanded, and there are exit holes where inquilines (also cynipids in this case, but ones that can't create their own galls) emerged. Each wasp had its own private chamber inside the gall. I believe a paper was published about H. pacificus and these particular gall-shape-altering inquilines, but I can't seem to find a reference to it right now.

Moved
Moved from Gall Wasps.

Moved
Moved from Unidentified Galls.

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.