We are still trudging along with the cleanup from Hurricane Zeta. It is a time consuming task and now even burning in the covered burn bins is out. Things are too dry and the winds have shifted from the south so I will not risk it. The marsh debris will just have to stay as ten foot tall mountains in the front yard. (So far we have 8 of these mountains with no end in sight of how many will yet be piled as we search for salvageable lumber. Hopefully, we can get most up before another storm appears in the Gulf. Exhausted...purely exhausted.
While dragging the planks to be stacked, Son and I have been noticing some strange "balls" on the ground. These are sort of dried, papery like thing about half the size of a golf ball. Most of them have a single leaf protruding from (what I think is) the top. There was some discussion as to what these things were. I figured they were just another type of gall wasp creations but did not know the name. Well, I was correct in thinking that a tiny larva lived inside. Son cut several open to reveal our critter!
These are indeed a type of gall wasp larva home. Much like the small, round blobs on the leaves of the oak trees, these house a wasp. Often called "oak apples" they appear as green balls in the spring and gradually turn brown over the summer. The female wasp lays a single egg on the branch and enzymes on the egg cause the tree to "grow" the gall around it. The egg hatches and the larva dines upon the interior of the gall. Eventually, (when the larva matures) it will drill a tiny exit hole in the ball and emerge as a wasp. These balls do not hurt the tree at all and really should not be viewed with disdain. Let the little wasp be! It is no threat to you nor your oak tree! Let the little critter live.
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