Little Pink Dots

   The recent storm that decided to miss us altogether and wreak havoc on Alabama and Florida did not even so much as knock down the dead limbs that I had hoped would happen.  Instead, there is little to no cleanup at all.  The Bayou was spared the wrath.  My heart lies with those dealing with the aftermath, however.  The cleanup will take months.  It is always heartbreaking to me as I know first hand what a hurricane can bring...and can take.  

  The only "limbs" down are tiny twigs.  While out clearing Pebble Creek that runs to Puddle Pond, I noticed that most of the twigs were from the live oak trees on the west side of the house.  Gathering them, I could see that a lot of the leaves had tiny, pink balls attached.  Aww, Mother Nature was decorating again!  These little "balls" are actually called galls and are the works of the Gall Wasp, also known as Gallflies.  The females lay their eggs on the oak leaf and soon the gall forms.  There is some question as to whether the larva forms the gall or if it is a reaction to the egg laying process.  Each little round dot contains a single larva that will be nourished and protected by the gall, itself.  Most Gall Wasps around here prefer the live oak trees as nurseries for their little ones. 

  While a lot of folks would be panic-stricken that their trees are "infested" with an "unsightly mess", this is not the case.  The galls do not hurt the tree in the least and if folks would truly take the time to view and understand the galls, they would come to see that all of nature is beautiful...galls included.  Mother Nature knows what she is doing.